Nami's Returning Nightmare
by GreenCyberWolf
Summary: You can't run from your past, Nami is finding this out the hard way, especially when the crew runs across an old 'acquaintance' from her past. What connection does this pirate have to the Strawhat's navigator? Rated T for safety. LuffyxNami
1. Normal Day Or Not

GreenCyberWolf: Alright, everyone welcome to my first One Piece fic and my first multi-chapter fic in… well… a long time. As far as updating goes, hopefully I will be able to do it fairly quickly; nothing is set in stone though, since I do have school and my own life to live.

Luffy: Come on enough with the boring stuff let's get to the story! Shishishi.

GreenCyberWolf: Luffy you don't have to be in such a rush, we have plenty of time for the story, after all I am the all powerful author. I am the one who gets to say when we start.

Luffy: …?

GreenCyberWolf: (sigh) Fine let's just start already.

Disclaimer: One Piece is mine, all mine...(insert random evil laugh)…ok, not really. Dai is my original character though.

Edit: I've re-edited spelling/grammer cause it was really driving me nuts

"talk"'thought'_flashback_

**-  
****Nami's Returning Nightmare  
****CH . 1  
Normal Day…Or Not  
-**

It was a warm sunny day out on the Grand Line. The sun was out, the waves were calm, and a certain rubber captain was currently hanging upside down off the side of his ship as it sailed through the sea. If one happened to look closely at said captain one would notice that a rather thick rope was snaked around his body, his feet being tied to the railing of the lion-headed ship. The crew on board happily went on with their business as usual completely ignoring the screams and pleas of their captain.

The sun was just setting when the door to the dining area opened and a tall blonde haired man stepped out wearing a pink apron, as always he had a lit cigarette in his mouth his short hair covered his left eye completely leaving his right to glare at the near empty deck. I say near empty because after a second look there was just one soul within the cook's sight and it happened to be the one person he disliked most. The blonde glared down on the green haired swordsman peacefully napping against the railing across the grassy deck. The man's three katana were cradled protectively in the crook of his well muscled arms, he snored lightly, oblivious to the glare being sent his way.

"Nami-swan! Robin-chwan!" The cook practically floated toward the doors that led to the women's rooms his one visible eye turning into a heart. Choosing to ignore his sleeping rival he neared the door as it swung open and a black haired woman stepped out. Her tanned skin contrasted nicely with her light blue eyes as a small smile came upon her face. "You called Cook-san?"

The cook fluttered around her in a twirl, "Yes my beautiful Robin-chwan, I have prepared a delicate, succulent meal for you. I have poured all my love into it so that it will be especially delicious to your lovely taste buds." The cook was cut off suddenly from his love speech when a loud voice came from the side of the ship.

"Oi, Sanji, did you say food?" Robin used the distraction to calmly slip away from the love-cook and into the galley. "Hey pull me up Zoro. I'm hungry." This time the unseen voice was directed to the now awake and grumbling swordsman.

Sanji walked over to the side of the ship and glared over the railing at the swaying boy. "You shitty rubber captain. After the mess you made of my Nami-swan's maps this afternoon I ought to leave you there all night."

"But Sanji I'm hungry." The black haired teen whined. His stomach gave out an audible growl as if to reaffirm this fact. Zoro, just shrugged not really caring either way and began to haul the lanky boy back on board. The warm breeze was making his short unruly black hair blow into his equally black eyes. Once upright and unbound from the ropes he straightened his signature red vest and made a dash for the galley door. "Yahoo! FOOD!"

"Hey Luffy what about…" Zoro's voice was lost to the younger boy as the door swung closed. The swordsman shrugged again and started toward the galley also as Sanji made his way to the observation room where the ships navigator was still most likely working. Then from the galley came the loud shout from Luffy. "Hat!" That was all the warning either the swordsman or cook had before the captain burst through the galley door knocking Zoro onto his backside and trampling over Sanji in his race to get his treasured straw hat back.

The ship's navigator was hunched over her desk in the darkening library. Her short orange colored hair covering her face as her dark brown eyes stared blankly at an article in the most recent newspaper the crew had gotten. She didn't hear Sanji call her for dinner nor the ruckus when Luffy was finally freed. So when the rubber boy came barreling through the door screaming her name it was no mystery as to why she had jumped clear out of her chair and landed unceremoniously on the floor. "Luffy you idiot, what are you doing making so much noise?" The irritated girl quickly jumped back up as she noticed Luffy looking around her desk and hastily grabbed the discarded newspaper before Luffy could become curious about it.

"Oh Nami, what were you doing on the floor? That couldn't be very comfortable." Luffy asked as he found what he was looking for and picked his straw hat up off the top of Nami's desk and placed it securely on his head. It was then that he noticed the crumpled up newspaper clutched in his navigator's hand and the uneasy nervous expression on her face. A confused look crossed the boy's features, "Is there something wrong Nami?" His usually light tone turning slightly concerned.

Nami quickly shook her head, "No it's nothing Luffy don't worry about it." She replied giving him a smile as reassurance.

Luffy shrugged, if she didn't want to tell him then that was fine, and when she did want to tell him he would listen. He was distracted from those thoughts as he remembered, "That's right, Sanji has dinner ready. Let's go Nami." The boy broke out into his classic too big for his face grin, he grabbed onto Nami's hand and preceded to drag her down the stairs all the way inside the dining room only letting her go to dive into his seat and dig in to the food already laid out on the table.

Nami was left by the door fighting a blush that had appeared on her cheeks at the young man's touch. She pointedly ignored the curious gazes of the other crew members as she calmly sat down and began to eat also. Robin shared a knowing smile with Franky, the blue haired shipwright as the two oldest members of the Strawhats observed the captain's and navigator's actions. Ussop, the tan skinned sharpshooter rubbed his finger under his overly long nose in confusion and looked across the table to the pirate's youngest member. Chopper, the ship's excellent doctor that just happened to be a reindeer, looked as confused as Ussop. Neither brought it up though for fear of the orange haired girl's wrath as they continued eating. Zoro just grunted not really caring or noticing for that matter. Sanji was in the kitchen with his back turned, luckily for Luffy otherwise the captain would be flattened to the wall.

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In the early hours of the morning all was quite on the Thousand Sunny the crew were all sleeping peacefully, all except for two of its members. Robin, who was on watch this night and Nami tossing restlessly in her sleep a deep frown etched on her face.

**XxXx**

_It had been almost 2 months since the Arlong Pirates took over Nami's small island. The young 10 year old girl was busily working on a map late one night when she heard a light tapping sound. 'What was that?' She paused looking nervously around her small room, 'I guess it was my imagination.' Nami went back to sketching out her map and then she heard it again coming from her window. Slowly she crept over and opened the window pane to see what was making the weird noise._

_To the young girl's complete surprise a boy with short unruly light brown hair stepped into the room but he wasn't just any boy he had come from her village. He was just a few inches taller than Nami with deep blue eyes that roamed around the room curiously before coming to rest on the younger girl. _

"_Dai, what are you doing here?" Nami fearfully asked her 11 year old friend._

_Dai offered his younger friend a carefree grin. "What do ya mean, I heard my best friend was kidnapped by a buncha bloodthirsty pirates. As if that wasn't enough I also heard she decided to take the fate of her entire village on her shoulders." The smile disappeared from his face as he took an interest in his shoes. "I also heard 'bout your mom, I'm sorry." After a second Dai raised his eyes to meet her brown ones and a smile crept onto his face at her shocked expression. "Before ya ask, your sis told me all 'bout it, I bugged her till she filled me in on what was really going on. Don't be mad at her. She told me ya wanted it all kept a secret. Thing is, there ain't any secrets between nakama like us right Nami?" The girl's eyes widened at his statement and a true smile showed on her face, her first real smile in 2 months._

_"Yeah, of course, no secrets." Nami nodded agreeing with the boy, "But Dai, how did you get in here in the first place? If Arlong catches you…"_

_The older boy cut her off quickly. "Don't worry 'bout that it took me a whole month and I kinda had to borrow my Dad's tools but I managed to cut a hole in a back corner of the outer wall. Before you get all mad and everything and knock me on the head again it's hidden by a buncha rocks so no one can see it. Besides these jerk pirates don't even have any kinda security, even if they did, you think that would stop me?" Dai puffed out his chest in a mock hero pose. "We've been nakama since we were little I'm not gonna abandon you now."_

_Nami tried to stifle her giggles at her friend's antics always aware that someone could hear her. Tears started to well up in her brown eyes. She was happy just knowing that there was someone besides her sister who believed in her. The 10 year old girl latched onto the boy's neck giving him a hug causing a pink tinge to color his cheeks. Suddenly the sound of footsteps caused Nami to let go and back away in fear and then the steps passed her door and continued down the hallway._

_Dai frowned sadly at the orange haired girl before sighing and moving his eyes to the floor. "Nami, I think I better go before I really do get caught." He looked toward the door again. "I'll visit again soon though. OK?"_

_Nami nodded also staring at the door making sure the steps wouldn't come back she then looked sadly at Dai again. "Yeah, I guess I'll see you later then?" She asked not being able to keep the tremor out of her voice._

_Dai nodded bravely, "You bet Nami, they couldn't keep me outta here for nothin." The brown haired boy started back toward the window but stopped before opening it. He turned to face Nami again. "Hey, Nami, I'm gonna make you a promise. I'm gonna train and get stronger and then I'm gonna slice that half-fish up so that you can get outta here." Nami looked at him quizzically as he grinned in her direction. "You just gotta keep on living too, until I can get strong enough." Dai gave her a big smile, "That way we can be strong together just like your Mom always said." Seeing his younger friend finally smile again Dai's own smile widened and he jumped out the window and was gone._

**XxXx**

Nami abruptly jolted awake and her eyes shot open as she slowly brought herself into a sitting position. She lifted her hands to her face only to find she was shaking uncontrollably. Closing her eyes she fought against the tears threatening to overflow. 'Where did that dream come from? I haven't thought about him in so long. Please let us just get through here without any trouble.' The cabin felt very cold and almost suffocating as Nami tried to calm herself down. After a few minutes she finally felt her trembling come to a stop.

She sighed allowing the dream to replay through her mind, letting her memories wander down a darker path. Nami lay back in her bed but knew after this sleep would be hard to come by. The orange haired girl continued to lay awake for a few hours. She didn't want to be sucked back into that dream again no matter how much sleep she lost. Nami stayed in bed until she saw the dawn's light peek through the window then she got up and dressed and ready to start the day hopefully it would be better than the one before.

=O=O=

Alright end of first chapter, yea me! Hope everyone enjoyed, I thrive on reviews, so you know what to do. Next chapter we see a bit more of Nami's past and trouble is getting closer to the Strawhats. See ya next chapter.


	2. Storms and Suspicions

GreenCyberWolf: Hey people welcome to chapter two, if you're reading this I must have managed to at least grab your attention, thanks for returning. This will be my last update on this story for the rest of the year since I'm taking next month off for Christmas and the New Year.

Luffy: Ooo I love Christmas! There's always a lot of food to eat!

GreenCyberWolf: Luffy that's not why you celebrate Christmas. Really don't you ever think past your next meal?

Luffy: …Ummm...What was the question?

GreenCyberWolf: O_o; Well anyway, let's get this show on the road, what do say?

Luffy: Yeah I'm so excited! Something cool is getting ready to happen I can feel it.

Disclaimer: Ok you guys already know the whole spiel, don't own, and never will. Thanks for reminding me.

"talk"  
'thought'  
_flashback_

**-  
Nami's Returning Nightmare  
CH. 2  
Storms and Suspicions  
-**

The day passed peacefully enough for the Strawhat crew and amazingly Luffy managed to not make a complete annoyance out of himself for the entire day. Although Nami could swear she had almost caught him staring at her a few times during the day but it could have just been her imagination by late afternoon she had almost forgotten about her dream from the night before.

Nami was trimming her mikan trees humming a nameless tune quietly to herself in the late afternoon when suddenly a loud yell from behind caused her to turn around only to see Luffy come flying toward her. The rubber boy was unable to stop in time and wound up slamming into the startled navigator which made the two of them crash to the floor with a yelp.

"Ah, sorry Nami, I didn't mean to. It was Ussop's idea." Luffy said, hastily lifting himself off the young woman lying beneath him hoping not to get hurt too badly.

"You idiot, what are you doing?" Nami groaned and cracked her eyes open to see her captain staring down at her with a blank look. She placed a hand to her head to steady her spinning vision and when she was no longer seeing double she noticed just how close Luffy was. Nami's eyes widened as she could feel the boy's warm breath against her face, his lower half laying across her legs and his arms placed on each side of her head. The insult she was about to scream at him died on her lips as she stared up into the deep black orbs that were Luffy's eyes her face took on a bright red color as she fully realized their position. "Luffy… " The pinned navigator choked out before she tried to steady her voice and clenched her hands by her sides. She glared at her unsuspecting captain, "…Luffy, will you get off of me, moron!" Nami yelled and punched the rubber boy in the face making him fly backward onto the deck.

Luffy grabbed his head in pain as he rolled on the ground. "Ow, Nami, what'd you hit me for? Why are you so mad?" The black haired teen whimpered as he looked over to the angry navigator.

Nami scowled as she stood up and straightened her outfit her blush toning down to a light pink color. "You're an idiot, of course when you go flying into people Luffy they're going to be upset." She said to him as she stalked past. Looking back only once as she rounded the corner and seeing Luffy still sitting where he had fallen, if she didn't know better looked like he was actually thinking about what she said.

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After dinner Luffy, Ussop, Chopper, and Franky were sitting on the grassy lawn deck and had started up a card game. "Hey Nami, come and play with us." The captain asked motioning to an empty spot on grass beside him. Nami hesitated only momentarily and then she nodded happily. It seemed like forever since she had played a game of cards with the crew just for the fun of it. The game lasted well into the night, it was near midnight when they finally called it a day and headed to their respective beds. Nami entered the women's quarters and found Robin still awake nose firmly planted in a large book. Nami quickly changed for bed and wished Robin a goodnight knowing full well that the older woman would more than likely stay up all night reading.

The early morning pre-dawn found Robin fully engrossed in her book about some obscure ancient culture when out of the corner of her eye she noticed her young friend seemed to be in some distress, the orange haired girl was mumbling and twitching in her sleep. Robin put her book down and moved to the side of Nami's bed upon closer inspection the archeologist found silent tears falling down the young woman's cheeks. What could bring the usually fiery navigator to tears like this? This piqued Robin's interest and she wondered, not for the first time, about the navigator's history. The first time was when the whole crew, besides herself, had their memories stolen. The orange haired girl had a rather different reaction than the others when she had found herself on a strange pirate ship and she had stated her hatred of pirates with such a strong conviction that it had startled the archeologist for a moment. Robin debated with herself for a minute on whether to watch the nightmare play out and perhaps learn something about the young woman's strange behavior lately or to save her friend from an obviously disturbing dream.

However the choice seemed to be made for her as Nami abruptly shot upward with an audible gasp. The girls brown eyes were wide with fear as they wildly scanned the room her mind still caught somewhere between the dream and reality. Nami took a few seconds to regain her senses as her eyes landed on Robin standing beside her bed.

"R...Robin, uh, I didn't wake you, did I?" The navigator quickly wiped the tears from her eyes trying not to let the trembling in her voice or hands show.

"No, Navigator-san, I was already awake." The older woman looked over the shaking girl with a calculating but gentle look. "You know, they say that talking about it helps to calm yourself after a nightmare."

As Robin expected her unsaid offer was turned down as Nami shook her head and climbed out of bed. "Thanks anyway Robin but I'm fine after all it was just a bad dream. It's not like it could happen again." Nami said the last part to herself but Robin heard it anyway. The girl started to pull a green tank top over her head thus missing the archeologist's eyes widen slightly at the tiny slip-up.

Robin left, letting the navigator finish getting ready and headed for the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee. 'I was right then, whatever has Navigator-san so shaken has something to do with some event in her past.' The black haired woman reflected on her crewmate's nervous behavior. It wasn't long before Sanji came into the room to prepare breakfast followed shortly by the rest of the crew all except for Nami. Robin briefly wondered on her whereabouts but it was quickly explained when Chopper said that he saw Nami heading for the bathhouse.

The conversation of the rest of the crew didn't take long to turn towards Nami and her odd mood. Even Zoro had noticed that the navigator had seemed off the last couple of days and let's face it he's not the sharpest knife in the drawer.

"Do you think she's sick?" Chopper asked worriedly already thinking of what illnesses his friend could have.

Robin shook her head, "I don't think that is the case Doctor-kun, it seems to be something else that is bothering her." Robin idly flipped through the latest newspaper that had come just the other day, being in the middle of the Grand Line it was often difficult to get news.

"Oh, my poor Nami-swan is suffering all alone, I shall be her knight in shining armor and come to her rescue!" Sanji declared in his love state. He was widely ignored.

Robin's blue eyes widened as they skimmed over a crumpled page in the paper that caught her interest, one that Nami had obviously read already, since besides Robin she was the only one who really bothered with the newspaper. The historian turned to Luffy with a serious gaze. "Captain-san, has Navigator-san had any unfortunate dealings with mermen before?"

The sudden odd change of topic threw the entire table into silence. Half the crew looked to Robin in curiosity at her asking such a weird question while the other half looked to Luffy wondering what his response would be. The boy seemed to be in some thought before he answered. "Yeah there was this shark guy that made Nami cry but I kicked his ass." To most of the crews surprise the captain actually remembered it much less sounding serious as he looked back at Robin.

Ussop, who was sitting next to Robin, looked over her shoulder at the article she had the paper opened to. "Why did you ask something like that Robin? Is it about this article?" The sharpshooter sounded curious, it matched the expression of the rest of the crew, except for Luffy who had gone back to devouring his breakfast.

"If that is the case then I think this might explain a lot." Robin said laying the open paper on the table in front of the crew. "I believe we will be entering this pirate's territory soon." Robin motioned to the wrinkled article on recent activities of a certain merman pirate by the name of Montaru. "This article says he is the cause of three fully manned Marine battle ships being sunk near an island not too far from here." Robin summarized for the others.

Zoro looked up from the paper his eyes narrowed. "So you think Nami knows this guy and has some kinda history with him? That's why she's freaking out." At Robin's affirmative nod the swordsman huffed muttering under his breath. "Just great, that woman gets all riled up just because she recognizes some old pirate."

Unknown to the crew Nami had walked into the dining area during Zoro's last comment. Seeing the opened paper on the table it didn't take much to catch on to what they were talking about and she looked ready to either cry or yell at the green haired man. She chose the latter. The girl advanced dangerously toward Zoro, her hands unconsciously clenched so tight her nails were digging into her skin. She stalked past Luffy and Sanji then stopped and glared at the reclining swordsman. "Just what makes you think I would know anything about some bastard pirate located on the Grand Line?" Her voice wavered slightly, even though she tried to hide it, her chocolate brown eyes flashed dangerously.

"Well this guy's a fishman and you did actually work with them for all those years." Zoro stated calmly not realizing the grave he was digging for himself. Within a few seconds the swordsman was pounded into the floor by the fuming navigator.

Nami turned her back on the room to hide the angry tears threatening to escape unable to keep her body from trembling. "I was _forced_ to work for them for eight years. It doesn't mean I would know about this guy just because he's a fishman too. It's not like they just shared any kind of information on anything, especially with me." Nami seethed at the pummeled swordsman. She stomped out of the room before anyone could ask any more questions and retreated into the observation room. So far her morning had completely sucked. She really didn't think her day could get much worse than this right now and it was barley past breakfast.

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It was late evening by the time Nami came back on deck again. She had skipped both lunch and dinner with the crew opting to stay in the observation room and work on her maps. The food Sanji had brought her was left relatively untouched. Aside from him the only other visitor to keep her company was Luffy which had greatly surprised her seeing as it was beautiful weather outside and they could both hear Ussop and Chopper's laughter coming from the lawn deck. When she had asked him why he was inside with her instead of outside like she knew he wanted to be he hadn't given an answer. Instead he just offered her a small grin that brought a red tint to her cheeks and continued watching as she started a new map.

Now though Luffy was gone, he had disappeared earlier when Sanji had called for dinner. Nami stepped out of the observation room and spotted Zoro across the deck sleeping, what else. She was still slightly annoyed at him but far from what she had felt this morning. A sudden cool breeze blew across the ship causing Nami to shiver but not from the cold, something felt wrong about this wind. She looked upward and found that the evening sky was blocked out by heavy black clouds. "Aaahhh! Why didn't anyone tell me the weather was getting this bad?" Nami screamed, noticing that Zoro was the only one outside. "Zoro, get up off your ass and get the others out here now." The navigator screamed at the man on the deck below. Her voice succeeding in both waking the swordsman from his nap and grabbing the rest of the crew's attention.

"What are you yelling about now, woman?" Growled an irritated Zoro as everyone else joined him on deck.

"Isn't it obvious you moron? There's a big storm coming and we're heading right for the center of it." Nami said pointing up at the ominous black clouds as a few heavy raindrops fell to the deck. "Now everyone get to your places. Sanji, Zoro, raise the sails. Franky man the helm. Chopper and Ussop make sure everything is tied down. Luffy, be sure to hold on to something, this is going to be a rough one."

The crew rushed to follow her orders as the rain and wind quickly picked up. Soon the waves grew more violent as lightning streaked across the sky. Nami shivered lightly while making sure her orders were being followed after all she only had her tank top and blue jean shorts and neither were providing very much protection against the wind and rain. As the storm progressed the orange haired navigator had a tough time remaining upright on the rolling ship as she continued to give out orders to the crew. Luffy had wrapped himself around the mast so he wouldn't be blown overboard.

"Luffy maybe you should go inside!" Nami yelled to the tied down rubber man. He didn't hear her, the fierce wind blowing away her words before they reached his ears. 'That idiot is going to drown himself.' Nami thought as she tried to make her way over to Luffy so she could tell the reckless captain to go inside but halfway there disaster struck in the form of a sudden huge wave. It was at least half as tall as the mast.

The massive wave crashed over the Thousand Sunny seemingly determined to capsize the ship. It caught everyone by surprise but fortunately they were all able to grab hold of something, except for Nami who was caught in the middle of the open lawn deck. There was nothing within reach to grab onto. The wave washed over the ship inevitably pulling the surprised girl over the side, Nami felt herself become airborne for a heart stopping few seconds, then the unavoidable dropping sensation as she freefell toward the raging ocean below. Nami shot her hand out grasping at air trying to catch herself on something, on anything, before hitting the water. Amazingly a hand reached out and grabbed onto her flailing one stopping her decent just in time. Nami looked up to see the coal black eyes of her captain the wild sea below her being reflected in his dark orbs.

Nami smiled as Luffy began to pull her back up the side of the ship his gaze still locked onto hers. She was almost back over the railing again when the storm tried once more to sink the ship as another large wave rocked the sturdy vessel. The Thousand Sunny gave another sudden lurch causing the rubber teen to slip on the wet grass and fly overboard still clutching the navigator's hand and the two pirates started to fall into the swirling water below.

Nami didn't have time to react as Luffy gave her a toss upwards and she landed with a thud on solid deck. She managed to stumble to her feet just as Zoro rushed by her and followed the captain into the waves. A moment later Sanji was there with rope in hand ready to help bring in the first mate and captain. After about two minutes Zoro resurfaced with an unconscious Luffy in tow the cook tossed the rope over and along with Franky pulled the pair out of the wildly crashing sea and back onto the deck.

Nami didn't allow herself to be relieved just yet, as she watched her unconscious captain being looked over by the young doctor. "Chopper, is he going to be alright?" She anxiously asked the reindeer who was in Heavy point to keep from being blown away.

Chopper nodded as he picked Luffy up and began to carry him back to the guys bunk room. "All he needs is some rest and he'll be good as new. Are you Ok Nami, you aren't hurt from your fall?" He asked stopping to look over his shoulder.

Nami smiled to herself in relief. "No, I'm alright Chopper, just take care of Luffy." She turned back to the others to get them back to work. "Alright guys, this storm should blow over by morning so we still have work to do."

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After another four hours of everyone working to make sure the ship stayed afloat the sea finally calmed down enough for the Strawhat crew to take a rest even though the rain and rough wind continued. The crew wasted no time in crashing in their respective beds. Nami volunteered to stay on watch for the night to be able to keep the ship on course in the rough conditions. Also, though she wouldn't admit it to anybody, so that she wouldn't have to go to sleep. After changing into a pair of black capri pants and a plain blue t-shirt the navigator climbed into the crow's nest to keep watch. It was a few hours till dawn and with nothing to occupy her mind but the dark ocean in all directions her memories of the past ran unbidden across her mind. Whether she was asleep or not.

**XxXx**

_Nearly two years after the takeover of Cocoyashi village and the small island things were still pretty much the same for everyone. Nami had spent those two years working endlessly on maps of the surrounding area for Arlong, although he wouldn't allow her to leave the island. He always said it was because she was so young and it was much too dangerous on the open ocean for a small child and that he couldn't allow his best surveyor to be in such dangerous situations. Though she suspected it was just to delay her from collecting money to buy back her village. During those two years Dai would often come for a late night visit to Arlong Park three or four times a month. The two young kids would do nothing but just sit and talk about simple things. Life in the village or maybe one of Nami's maps she was working on._

_However outside of these visits, if they happen to pass each other in Cocoyashi, which wasn't often they never said a word to the other. He would instead offer her a secretive smile and she would acknowledge him only with a nod of her head, after all, appearances had to be maintained. _

_A few nights after her twelfth birthday Dai came for a visit as usual. It was raining lightly so he had on his father's old tattered jacket. "Happy birthday, Nami." The now thirteen year old boy said as soon as he stepped into the room. "I'm supposed to say Happy Birthday from your big sis too and that she's got something for ya whenever ya got the time to visit." Dai shuffled his feet against the floor suddenly uncharacteristically nervous. "Um…here, this is for you." He pulled a wrapped box out of the large jacket and handed it to Nami. It was thin, about medium length, and was lightweight. _

_"Dai, you didn't have to get me anything." Nami said excitedly accepting the box anyway she didn't notice her friend's light blush as she eagerly unwrapped the package. When it was opened there followed a definite moment of confusion. "I don't get it, Dai, what am I going to do with 3 sticks?" _

_"Aaa, no. They're not just sticks Nami. It's a triple segment bo staff." Dai explained taking the parts out of the box one by one. "I made it myself, well… Dad helped a little. It's the perfect offensive and defensive weapon, plus it's strong and won't break easily in a fight. Once ya get the hang of it the assembly should easily take only a few seconds." Dai said showing her how to put the staff together, sounding rather pleased with his accomplishment. He handed the assembled staff back to Nami letting her look it over and get used to its feel. "You've been going on for weeks now about how Arlong's finally gonna let ya travel off the island." The brown haired boy gave a wry grin, "This will help bring ya back home in one piece."_

_The orange haired girl smiled. "Thanks Dai, this is the best present ever, it will help me a lot. Anyway you won't be getting rid of me that easily we made a promise didn't we?" At his nod she laughed quietly, but then her smile faded. "Dai, you know I'll be leaving tomorrow, right? I'm finally going to be able to start collecting the money I need for Arlong." The boy nodded actually being totally serious for once. "I need you to tell Nojiko for me. I know if I tell her she's going to start lecturing me about safety and what to do or not to do like she would know more about leaving the island than me." Nami huffed already annoyed, making Dai chuckle at his friend. _

_"OK, consider it done," Dai smirked. "I'll just add this to my list of favors that ya owe me for." He laughed again at the expression on Nami's face. "Well, if you're gonna be leaving tomorrow, ya need your rest so I better get going. The rain has stopped anyway and I don't want to get caught in it again." The thirteen year old boy started to open the window before turning to look over his shoulder. "Nami I know ya don't need a lecture but… be sure to come back safe, gold or no gold." _

_Nami gave a hollow laugh at the thought of coming back empty handed. "Right, no problem Dai." The young girl's words were empty as was her expression and Dai knew the words for what they were, just a fake reassurance, he knew that she would never even consider coming back with nothing to show for it. The boy sadly gave a last 'good luck' and jumped through the window._

**XxXx**

The navigator rested her forehead against her knees with a weary sigh. 'Why in all of the Grand Line did we have to run across him? I thought I could finally put everything that happened with Arlong behind me and I definitely thought I'd never have to see _his_ name again. I'm sorry. I couldn't stop him or you.' She closed her eyes tightly as a few tears still managed to escape. One certain person kept coming back to haunt her since reading that news article and it was his face she saw now. 'I thought I was over and done with this already.' She ground her teeth against the tears that continued to fall and the silent sobs that shook her entire body. Nami was so distracted by her thoughts of the past that she failed to notice an unknown ship appear on the distant horizon.

The heavy cloud cover and rain continued through the dawn and over the last few hours the strange ship had moved quite a bit closer to the Thousand Sunny. Nami kept a close eye on it having finally spotted it after pulling herself together. There was no Marine symbol or Jolly Roger on the sail or flag, but seeing the large black boat sent a really bad vibe down her spine, not only that but it was slowly gaining on Sunny. Finally coming to a decision Nami walked over to the ship's speaker and turned it on. "Hey, everyone wake up. We have an unknown ship coming up on the port side." Nami's voice sounded throughout the ship, and then she climbed down from crow's nest to meet the still half asleep crew on deck.

Luffy, who seemed to be recovered from his near drowning experience walked up to Nami rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Nami, what's up? You said something about a ship?"

"Yeah, just take a look." Nami pointed to the port side of the ship and Luffy ran over to take a look. With the prospect of a fight some of his usual energy returned to the rubber boy. "I've been watching them for about two hours now. They've steadily been gaining on us. It doesn't seem to be a marine ship and there's no Jolly Roger either but there's something weird about it. I have a bad feeling about that ship."

Zoro had moved to the side of the ship with Luffy and Ussop. "Hey, it looks like they're doing something over there." The swordsman was looking toward the other ship with an intense gaze. In the few minutes since Nami had left the crow's nest the strange vessel had moved close enough for the Strawhat crew to see some of the activity on board the other ship. The rest of the crew gathered at the side of the ship to see what Zoro was talking about.

As the crew looked on something was being raised up the mast of the opposite ship, it hung limply for a second until the wind caught it revealing a black flag with a pirate symbol on it. A symbol Nami seemed to recognize as she gasped and suddenly pulled away several steps from the railing. "No…no way. Not him." Nami whispered to herself. Her eyes locked on the black pirate flag.

=O=O=O=

OK second chapter is done, and I know you all must hate me for leaving off there, but hope ya'll enjoyed it anyway. Remember next month I'll be taking off for Christmas, so see you guys next year. Everyone have a Merry Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanzaa, and anything else I missed.

Next chapter we'll see just who this strange pirate ship belongs to and what they want.


	3. Past Meets Present

GreenCyberWolf: Hey all, welcome to 2010, hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year. Thanks to everyone who took time out of their busy holiday schedule to read the last chapter and even more thanks to those who actually reviewed. Now with the start of a new year comes a brand new chapter, I actually didn't get as far as I wanted in this chapter, it just didn't fit well with how I wanted to end it. Anyway, Luffy how was your holidays, you rested and ready to go?

Luffy: Hell yeah! I'm ready to kick this guy's ass!

GreenCyberWolf: OK then, I'd hate to be the one to delay this for everyone, so on with the story.

Disclaimer: Luffy and co. don't belong to me, but Dai and Montaru are mine.

"talk"  
'thought'  
_flashback_

**-  
Nami's Returning Nightmare  
Ch. 3  
Past Meets Present  
-**

The whole Strawhat crew stood at the side of the Thousand Sunny watching the stranger's pirate symbol flap stiffly in the cool wind. A dawning look of horror crept up on Nami's features as she backed away from the side of the ship, this was a disaster, Luffy gave her a curious look as she stepped away from the railing.

"So you're the infamous Strawhat Pirates? To be honest I'm disappointed. I was expecting something a bit more of a challenge, not a bunch of weak ass kids." A deep voice said from behind the group.

Nami's blood ran cold at the sound of the unwelcoming familiar voice. The crew whirled around and were surprised to see a large blue skinned shark type merman standing on the deck of the Sunny. He had long wild black hair pulled back in a low pony-tail, a saw for a nose, and of course large shark teeth lining his mouth. His whole right arm was covered in an intricate tattoo design and he was dressed in a plain black tank top with grey cut off shorts. Some other mermen, obviously from his crew, were climbing over the railing and taking up positions behind the leader. The shark-man's eyes traveled over the assembled humans in front of him smirking nastily as he focused in on one in particular.

"Well, what do you know a familiar face all the way out here in the middle of the Grand Line. Heh, it's a small ocean, isn't it Nami?" The shark's cold slate colored eyes glared down at the smaller girl. "It's so _nice_ to see you again."

Seven pairs of curious eyes turned toward their navigator each wondering how the hell she knew this guy and why she had lied about it earlier they all could see her dislike for the pirate. Nami's gaze never wavered from the large merman in front of them, it remained fixed on the leader of the invading pirates. She didn't even acknowledge the crew's questioning looks there would be time for answers later. Right now she was on the watch for any way to get this pirate off the ship and get them away as fast as possible. Luffy stepped up so that he was a few steps in front of Nami, not necessarily blocking her, but ready to stop anyone who tried anything. He most definitely didn't like the way this strange pirate sounded when he spoke to his navigator.

Sanji glared at the intruder also not liking the tone when he addressed Nami. "Nami-san, do you know this guy?" The cook asked while lighting up a cigarette. He really didn't need to ask of course. They all knew that she did, in what way they still didn't know but this was the same destructive pirate from the newspaper article they had seen earlier.

The leader of the fishmen laughed, "Come on Nami, why don't you introduce me to your little friends. After all the last friend of yours I met gave me a rather memorable fight, before I cut him open, that is." The orange haired navigator tensed digging her nails into the palms of her hands so hard that she drew blood. The shark man sneered at the death glare being sent his way as he stepped towards the trembling girl which caused her to take an involuntary step backwards and the crew to tense in their fighting positions.

Nami scolded herself as she backed away from the large merman. She took a deep breath and put on her old mask of calm, cold, indifference that she wore in front of Arlong for all those years. "You don't need to bring him into this, he has nothing to do with it, and neither does this crew so leave us alone. Trust me you'll be better off." Nami scowled at all the fishmen on deck, ice practically dripping from her voice. She finally turned her gaze to her crew as she addressed them. "And, yeah I know him, unfortunately. Though I can't say our meeting was a pleasant experience. His name is Montaru and he's the top dog around these islands, so to speak. Now Monty, not that this little trip down memory lane hasn't been fun, but what do want?"

Luffy looked at his navigator out of the corner of his eye although it seemed no one else had noticed, he caught the slight tremor in her voice. That was all he needed to hear to tell him she was frightened and trying desperately to hide it. He knew Nami almost too well, he had been watching her lately, and he had noticed the little things she did when she was covering for something or when she was afraid. The look on her face and the way her whole body was tensed reminded him of the time he saw her in Cocoyashi Village before his fight with Arlong, and he hated it.

The lead merman scowled as a deep growl escaped his lips. "Do not call me Monty you worthless little human! Don't forget who you're talking to bitch." Montaru snarled showing off a row of razor sharp teeth.

Sanji immediately came to Nami's defense. "Hey you can't talk to her like that." He said but he was ignored and Montaru spoke again as if Sanji hadn't said anything at all. His next words drowned out what the cook was going to say next.

"After all you belonged to my brother and with him gone everything he owned transferred over to my possession, including his crew. Of which you are a part unless I'm mistaken and you actually managed to pay off your debt to him. I'm sure I don't have to explain the agreement to you." Montaru let out a loud laugh as Nami's hastily formed cover broke. Her eyes betraying her shock, hatred, and anger.

"There's no way I'm going to just let you take control of me like you did back then. I don't belong to you or anybody." She yelled back at the large shark-man. "I'm not going back to living like that!" Nami forced herself to sound braver than she felt but she failed at keeping the panic out of her voice.

Luffy ground his teeth together he really hated this guy. Usually he let his nakama fight their own battles. He knew they were strong and he would only get involved if they asked for his help but for some reason he felt that he couldn't stand back and let this walking fishstick talk to Nami like that. "Oi, Nami's not going anywhere, you half fish bastard. She's my navigator!" Luffy yelled out taking a step forward not being intimidated at all by Montaru's huge size.

If Montaru was annoyed at Luffy's outburst he didn't show it. "Hahaha, you should be grateful that I'm willing to take this little bitch off your hands before she winds up getting you all killed. After all it wouldn't be the first time she's caused the death of her would be savior." Nami's mouth went dry as she tried to speak but ultimately failed as she fought back tears. This was no place and no situation to be in such a state. "Well then Strawhat, I have some business to settle with _your_ navigator, so I'll let my crew play with you for a bit." The large shark told them motioning with his hand to the few dozen mermen now standing behind him. At the signal the invading crew all charged at once catching the Strawhats by surprise and forcing them to spread out across the ship.

Five fishmen went after Sanji, he was holding his own, but they were doing surprisingly well against the chef's strong kicks.

Zoro seemed happy enough taking on seven of the opposing pirates, three of which looked like swordsmen. (Or was it swordfish?)

There were no less than four mermen chasing Ussop from one end of the ship to the other, he would try to fire a shot over his shoulder from his slingshot if he got an opening, but he wasn't suited to close combat situations like this. Also, he was much too busy screaming his head off as he tried to avoid the mermen's attacks.

Chopper had bitten into a Rumble Ball, the young doctor had transformed into Arm point, and he was handling three of the mermen with only a little difficulty.

Franky and Robin had their hands full with the fourteen fishmen between them, alternating between blasting them and breaking the bones of the invaders.

Luffy tried to keep close to Nami but it was near impossible with ten of the largest and strongest mermen throwing a barrage of attacks at him from every direction. The constant attacks forced him to leave Nami alone to face the leader of the pirates.

The young navigator pulled out her Perfect Clima Tact and stood face to face with the shark-man, figuratively speaking, since he was nearly seven feet tall. "You know, I think I'm going to enjoy this." Montaru sneered before suddenly rushing forward catching Nami by surprise when he wound up right in front of her. The merman slammed his hard fist into her gut sending the girl flying into the railing on the other side of the lawn deck.

Nami stood up shakily leaning on the railing for support as she tried to get her breath back. She was able to regain her footing but then Montaru was rushing toward her again but this time she was able to dodge his punch. Nami quickly ducked and moved around behind him using the agility that earned her the title of thief, her Clima Tact was poised to attack. With all her strength she aimed for the fishman's head and brought down the metal rod with a resounding crack. The ferocious pirate only stumbled forward a few steps from the force of the blow but was still able to remain on his feet. Nami gasped for breath, sure that a few of her ribs were undoubtedly bruised or cracked from his earlier punch. Electricity surged through the metal staff as the orange haired teen tried to attack again. "Thunder Charge!" She cried out as the electrical shock traveled from the staff and into the blue skinned fishman.

"Aarrgghh!" The merman started to smoke as he yelled out. Electricity coursing through his body. Montaru quickly moved his hand upward grabbing hold of the electrified rod and ripped it out of the navigator's hands. "That's an interesting weapon you've managed to get your hands on. It actually managed to hurt me you bitch." The shark snarled at her before casually tossing her weapon aside. Montaru wasted no time in retaliating, wrapping his large webbed hand around Nami's throat and easily lifting her completely off the deck.

Nami began to panic as her source of air was cut off. The orange haired girl clawed at Montaru's webbed hand desperately trying to take in air. It was getting harder and harder to draw a breath and her vision was starting to black out. Finally her hands fell to her sides not having the energy to struggle anymore. The noise from the surrounding battle slowly faded into white noise in the navigators ears as she started to pass out.

"I'm not done with you yet girl, tell me this isn't all you can do. You can't be leaving the party so soon." Montaru growled, and then he slammed the navigator against the large mast with such force the wood beneath her cracked. The fishman took his hand from her throat and watched as she limply fell down to the deck just barely conscious.

Nami coughed and wheezed as she took in deep breaths of air slowly regaining her bearings. When the deck stopped spinning and the little black spots had cleared her vision Nami tried to take a look around the grassy surface for anything that might help her. Hazy brown eyes landed on her Perfect Clima Tact that was almost within arm's reach. 'If I could somehow just reach it I might stand a chance.' The thought crossed her mind and then throwing caution to the wind Nami quickly rolled to her back in the direction of the weapon. Nami stretched her hand out reaching to grab the rod. However, Montaru put an end to that idea by swiftly bringing down his foot on Nami's right wrist, the one that was closest to her weapon. The orange haired girl felt the bone snap and couldn't hold back the scream of pain that escaped her lips. Nami writhed on the ground as she struggled to pull her hand free all the while glaring up at her attacker as she tried to focus through the painful fog that clouded her mind. When she was able to focus enough to see through the lightly falling rain, her eyes widened in fear.

Montaru had pulled out a large dagger and was running his finger along the edge of the blade. "Playtime is now over, you got in a lucky shot that last time and I was never able to live it down. Now it's your turn. Then after you, that rubber shit you call a captain will follow because of what he did to my brother and our pride." The shark-man knelt down bringing the blade up to lightly run his tongue over the sharp edge. His foot still restraining the girl's wrist as he gripped the handle of the knife. The merman swiftly and forcibly brought the blade down thrusting it deep into Nami's left shoulder, the knife just nicking the bone. It wasn't a fatal wound but the large gash in her shoulder started to flow freely with the life giving liquid in her body staining her blue shirt a deep purple color.

The pain that shot from her wound was intense as Montaru pulled the large dagger out of her body and she let out a desperate, piercing scream. "Luffy!" Nami didn't know why his name was the one that came to her mind in that second, only that he had never failed in saving her before, in the many times her life had been saved by him. The only thing that she knew for certain was that she needed her captain's help. Nami wearily tried to fight the darkness that was starting to gather at the edge of her vision but she was growing tired quickly. In the last few moments before succumbing to oblivion her eyes sought out Luffy's form. She was hardly able to keep herself conscious but forced her tired brown eyes to search out her captain. Nami watched as Luffy took out his last two opponents and hurriedly turned in her direction his fist was raised for an attack. 'Luffy, help me.' Nami silently pleaded as her beaten body gave out and she slipped into darkness.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

**(Luffy POV)**

I watched as the huge fishman made a motion to the group behind him and suddenly there was a rush of movement as ten of the fishmen came in my direction. I could hear my other nakama being attacked also. 'This is gonna be fun.' I grinned getting into a fighting stance. I know that fish guy has something against Nami, I don't really care what it is, but if he touches her I'll tear him apart. I paused, thinking about where that thought came from. I don't know and right now I don't have the time to think about it as I dodge the first attack and then the second. These fish bastards are starting to push me further away from Nami. I can only spare a glance in her direction and I see her facing off against that shark guy. I have to quickly focus back on my own fight though as three of them jump on me. I had little trouble throwing them off. As I did I noticed the rest of the crew is in a similar situation they are spread out over Sunny and are all involved with their own battles.

"Thunder Charge!" I heard Nami's voice over the sounds of the fighting but it seemed to be more distant then before. I quickly glance over where her voice came from and I can't help the large grin that appears on my face when I see the shark-man being fried by Nami's attack. 'That's my navigator.' I duck as a fishman flies over my head and I was reminded that I had my own fun to get back to, although I did feel better knowing that Nami was doing well against the big fish. I was really getting into my fight and only counted five of the fishmen left standing in front of me that's when I hear a painful scream across the deck. I jump, recognizing Nami's voice. I try to see what was going on but when my attention turned to her I wound up with a face full of fist. It didn't hurt but I was forced backwards a few feet. I still tried to see where Nami was and what was happening to her. "Luffy!" That sound chilled me to my core. I can hear the desperation and make out the frantic pained tone in her voice. Nami needed help NOW!

I was done playing around with these bastards. I stretch my arms around the last two fishmen in my way and fling them far away from the ship before finally being able to turn my full attention to helping Nami. I can easily spot the large shark-guy amidst the chaos that had broken out on Sunny's deck and I knew Nami couldn't be far away. Then I saw her, lying still at the merman's feet on the grass of the lawn deck. Even from several feet away I can see that blood was dripping down her chin from her mouth. The left shoulder of her shirt had stained a deep purple color, it looked like blood, and a lot of it. Her blood was starting to drip from the wound on her shoulder onto the grass of the deck covering the grass with a dark red. There was no question in my mind, this guy was dead.

Her eyes were half closed and she was nearly unconscious but I can tell that she is watching me as I wind up my arm for an attack on the half-fish that was looming over her still form. 'Hang on Nami, I'm coming.' I run forward ready to beat the crap out of the bastard but he was able to act first, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small metallic ball.

The fishman smirked as he threw the ball at my feet creating a really bright flash of light that had me blinded and from the sounds of surprise the same was happening to my nakama. I can hear the shark-man as he moves away, he's laughing, mocking us. I ground my teeth together as he started to speak. "If you want this pathetic little girl back so badly come to my island, after all it wouldn't be fair if we were to fight here." I could hear the nastiness in his voice as he continued. "Oh, by the way, I would hurry if you wanted her back in one piece. I don't think I will be able to keep my boy's from tearing her apart for more than two weeks, after that, well I'll leave that up to them."

'He's taking Nami with him? I can't let her go with that guy.' I jump forward toward where his voice is coming from but end up tripping over something lying on the ground. I hear a loud splash followed by several others and I know that those damn bastards have jumped overboard with Nami. I reach down to see what tripped me up ready to fling it into the ocean, instead my fingers meet with a long metal rod. It was Nami's Clima Tact. "Damn it all! Nami!" I scream, gripping the metal staff tightly. I barley even noticed that it had finally stopped raining.

**(End Luffy POV)**

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

One by one the mermen pirates boarded their large black ship jumping out of the water with a splash. The large blue-skinned shark, Montaru, easily jumped aboard even with the Strawhat's navigator in his hands. "Alright, get this boat headed back to base, were done with these shit bastards for now." Montaru ordered his men while he personally carried Nami's limp body below decks to the brig. He placed the unconscious girl in a special cell, one whose lock couldn't be picked, even by the best locksmith or thief. He, none too gently, bound her feet and hands with thick rope paying no mind to her injuries.

"Believe it or not, you little bitch I'm glad you're not hanging around my brother anymore." Montaru told the unconscious girl. "It leaves you at my mercy. You should be thanking Arlong, pathetic girl. He saved your little ass that time. Now though I will be able to pay you back for then and all of the times I've been humiliated by what you did." The shark gripped Nami by the neck, imagining himself wringing the life out of her. But no, he wanted to play with this girl for a bit, make her suffering last. He removed his hand and left the beaten navigator lying on the floor as he disappeared back up the stairs.

=O=O=O=

Alright that's chapter three I hope everyone enjoyed. I've never really written a big fight scene like this before, so let me know how I did with it. On a side note here please review, there were hardly any reviews for last chapter, I'd like your input on how you think the story is progressing. Also it lets me know if I'm doing a good job are not.

In the upcoming chapter, Nami has been kidnapped and there is nothing Luffy can do to help her, what's the Strawhat crew gonna do now? What is Montaru going to do with Nami? Tune in next time to find out. See ya next chapter.


	4. What Happens Now

GreenCyberWolf: Thank you everyone for all the reviews. You guys are great. There were some questions as to how Luffy could have been held back by ten mermen. Hopefully in this chapter I will have answered at least _some_ of those questions. Anyway this is going to be mainly a transition chapter, they're annoying, but necessary. There's only one more flashback chapter left after this, thank goodness, I don't really like writing flashbacks all that much. A new college semester has started again. Maybe I can do better than the last one, and now that school has started again, I hope you know what that means. Yep it means I won't be able to sit around and work on this story all day like I did before, but don't fear I've already got most of Ch. 5 down, and will be able to put it up at the end of February. That is if Luffy will stop pouting. What are you so upset for anyway?

Luffy: I'm not talking to you and I don't want to do this fic anymore.

GreenCyberWolf: What do mean? Why aren't you gonna finish the story?

Luffy: ….You made me look weak. *turns away and pouts*

GreenCyberWolf: Alright fine be that way. I'll just have to change this into a SaNa fic since you refuse to cooperate.

Luffy: Alright…Alright! You twisted bastard. You win I'll keep doing the story.

GreenCyberWolf: I knew you'd see it my way. *big grin* Anyway if you behave, like a good boy, you'll get a little treat at the end.

Disclaimer: In a perfect world I would own One Piece and Luffy and Nami would already be together but since this world isn't perfect I don't own.

"talking"  
'thinking'  
_flashback_

**-  
Nami's Returning Nightmare  
Ch. 4  
What Happens Now  
**-

**XxX**

_Around Nami's thirteenth birthday major changes started happening around Arlong Park. Arlong's younger brother had traveled from the Grand Line and set himself and crew up with his older brother. His name was Montaru and unlike his older brother the younger merman was not in the least impressed by young Nami's map making skills. To him the girl was as worthless as any other human. The deal his brother had made with the girl was laughable and the fact that she was given free range around the base was even more so. Montaru was just as strong as Arlong, if not stronger, and he was much crueler than his brother. He made it a point from day one when Nami walked in from one of her trips to make her life a living hell._

_Montaru's appearance also forced Dai to cut back on his and Nami's visits because the new crew was very tight on security around the compound unlike Arlong's men. Couple that with the fact that Nami would more often than not show up at Nojiko's with new unexplainable bruises, it was pushing the fourteen year old to the end of his patience. She never said it outright but he knew what or more like who it was. Even Nami could see Dai was close to snapping and she and Nojiko did everything they could think of to calm their friend down every time he would want to go up against the fishmen._

_One sunny afternoon Nami limped up the path to the tangerine orchard barely managing to lift one foot and put it down in front of the other, only to repeat the process. She could feel the bruises starting to form all over her body and blood dripped from her busted lip. The girl panted unable to draw a breath without pain, due to her bruised ribs, and to top it all off she was soaked courtesy of Montaru. _

_It had started when Arlong had ordered both Montaru and Nami, with a few others, to pay a visit to a village on the far side of the island. The easiest way was by boat so Nami and the mermen boarded a small schooner and set off on the quick journey. In the end, as always when Nami and Montaru were within twenty feet of each other, an argument broke out. Which resulted in Nami getting beaten and to add salt to the wound both literally and figuratively the shark merman threw her overboard. Coincidently she was dumped near the dock of Cocoyashi so she had no choice but to swim to the unused dock and then drag herself through the village to get to the small tangerine farm and her sister._

_Thus bringing Nami to her current goal of reaching her sister's house. 'Almost there… just a little more.' The young girl's tired mind kept repeating, like a mantra, with every step. She finally reached the corner of the house and stretched out a hand to steady herself against the wall, her legs felt like jelly, and she wanted to collapse right there. "Just a few more steps to go." Nami muttered as her eyes slid shut and her legs gave out on her, crashing to the ground unconscious. _

_The next thing Nami knew she was in a bed. She could feel that her wounds were bandaged and treated and she could hear two very familiar voices in the background. "Will you keep it down, idiot. You're going to wake her up." That was definitely Nojiko's tone. _

"_Alright, alright. But I don't care what ya say this time I ain't gonna sit back and watch them do this to her anymore." Dai's voice came out strong and determined. It didn't take much for Nami to figure out they were talking about her._

_Nami cracked one eye open to see, of all people, Genzo sitting beside her. She turned her head slightly to see her sister and her best friend standing by the door. She looked back up at Genzo as he huffed from beside her._

"_So you're awake," Genzo said looking down at the young girl. "What a troublemaker you are." He said in a gruff voice. The older man got up from his seat interrupting the two teenager's argument and he gave Dai a smack on the head as he passed by. "Don't do anything dim-witted." The boy just glared at the man's retreating back. "I'll talk to you two tomorrow." He called as he calmly walked out the door._

_Nojiko stared after the old man as well but then Nami sat up and tried to get out of bed. "Nami, you shouldn't try to get up yet." The blue haired girl hurried over to her only sister's side. "You're pretty beat up and you were soaked when we found you. What happened?" _

"_Yeah and who exactly did this? Not like I don't already know." Dai said from his position leaning on the doorframe, there was a fierceness in his voice rarely heard from the laid back boy. "I'm gonna make that bastard pay."_

_Nojiko sighed a long suffering look of annoyance on her face. "Dai, you know that if you challenge the fishmen they'd kill you, along with the entire village."_

_Dai gave a cocky grin. "Not if I win. Besides I wouldn't tell them my name and they wouldn't even know I'm from this village. So ya'll would be in the clear." The teen gripped the handle of a crudely made katana Nami hadn't seen before. "Come on, I haven't been practicing with this thing for two years for nothing."_

"_No way Dai! There's no way you can beat him. It's suicide to even try to go against any of those monsters, much less Montaru or Arlong." Nami yelled, trying to reason with her friend. She struggled weakly against Nojiko's hold and winced as her older sister's grip tightened. "Besides, this isn't even that serious, no reason to get upset over it." Nami waved her hand as if to brush the pain away._

_Dai gave her a hard look running his clear blue eyes over her many cuts and bruises, the boy frowned. "I'm tired of you guys telling me to wait this is serious Nami and I'm gonna put a stop to it." He turned away from his two best friends still gripping his sword. "Don't worry Nami, I always said I'd be your hero, right? There's no way the hero can die." The fourteen year old resheathed his blade before turning to leave._

"_Dai, stop with that dumb idea, I don't need you to save me. Besides, you've been saying that for years now and you're no closer to saving me than you were before." Nami snapped at him hoping to make her friend see reason._

_The young teenager opened the door and began to walk out but stopped just on the inside. "You just rest here Nami, Ok." Dai gave the orange haired girl a soft smile as he closed the door behind him._

_Nami stared at the closed door in shock for almost a minute. She knew what he was going to try to do and she knew Nojiko did as well. "Nojiko, what are you doing, you have to stop him." The younger girl pleaded. _

_Nojiko shook her head as she sat on the edge of the bed, "If there's anything you and that empty-headed moron have in common it's your thick skulls. You know as well as I do that once he decides something he can't be persuaded." _

_Nami shook her head in disbelief. "That doesn't mean I have to sit back and watch him do it." She yelled at her sister, throwing the blankets off as she stood from the bed. Nami stumbled from Nojiko's grasp and toward the door. "You should stay inside. There's no telling how Arlong will take this." _

**XxX**

_Drip…Creak…Drip…Creak, _Nami groaned as she forced her eyes open to stare into the gloom of her surroundings the steady dripping of a leak somewhere nearby and the creaking of the ship were the only sounds to reach her ears through the darkness. 'I never thought I'd have to deal with this nightmare again. I assumed I'd left this behind a long time ago.' She thought as she tested the ropes around her hands and feet.

Once she was able to clear some of the cobwebs in her head she took a better look around the dimly lit cell she was in. Nami noticed the cell was completely empty but that came as no surprise to her. The orange haired girl found herself lying on her side near the back of the cell she struggled to sit up but the act was made more difficult by the fact that both her hands and feet were tied.

"First thing to do is get free of these ropes." Nami said to herself as she began to work to free her hands first. The jerky movements caused a wave of pain to shoot through her arm, neck, and chest from the reopened stab wound and wrist. Gritting her teeth against the pain she continued to concentrate on her work until she finally felt the ropes around her hands loosen. The teen sighed with relief as she began to untie her feet as well. 'Damn, my shoulder feels like it's on fire. I have to try to get out of here.' Nami pulled a lock pick from the bottom of her sandal and fighting the dizziness from the loss of blood the navigator crawled over to the cell door and began to try to pick the lock. After nearly twenty minutes and nothing to show for it Nami gave up and wearily moved to the back of the cell. She leaned against the wall and drifted into an troubled sleep. 'I wonder what happened to the others.'

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Back on the Thousand Sunny the Strawhat crew had recovered the use of their sight and immediately got to work looking over the ship to check for damages. After half an hour Franky and Ussop reported that the helm was broken in the attack and would take nearly half the day to fix. The rain had stopped falling though the gray clouds overhead seemed to mirror the crew's feelings. Nami was gone and there was no way to give chase any time soon.

"Well, first things first." Sanji said picking himself off the ground where he had fallen into a weeping mess at hearing about Nami's kidnapping. "We need to eat and get our energy back so that we can rescue Nami-swan as swiftly as possible." He turned and headed into the kitchen to fix an early lunch.

The crew gathered in the dining room to discuss their next move. Obviously they would give chase after the fishmen and their kidnapped navigator they just needed to figure out what direction to head in. Sanji was in the kitchen cooking up some food. Zoro was in the infirmary with Chopper getting patched up since he had overdone it again and Robin was in the study looking for a map of the area. The others sat around the table waiting for Sanji to serve the food.

Sanji was just setting out the dishes when Robin walked into the dining room with what looked like a map held in her hand. "Captain-san, I think I've found a map of the area around the merman base." Luffy, who had been rather downcast since the fight, perked up at that news and Robin smiled. "Luckily Navigator-san left the log pose behind. If the map is correct the merman base is located after the next island. Fortunately that is where the log pose is pointing although it will take nearly three days to get to the next island and then I don't know how long it will be to get to the pirates base."

At this news Luffy slumped back down in his chair dejectedly. "That long?" He muttered.

Zoro and Chopper managed to join the crew for lunch and during the meal Robin filled them in on what she knew of the fishmen pirate band. "I've heard of this group of pirates before but it was long ago and I didn't connect it with this same merman until I saw the leader. I apologize Captain-san." Luffy quickly waved it off and motioned for the archeologist to continue. "This area of the Grand Line once was controlled by two mermen, they were brothers, and terribly strong. The older one and the leader was a pirate named Arlong and the younger, as you can guess, was Montaru. Sometime ago the older brother unexplainably left, to where I never heard, leaving the younger to run this area himself. A few years after they split the younger brother gathered the strongest of his crew and also disappeared. I never was able to find out where he went to and then after nearly a year he reappeared on the Grand Line again. Stories and rumors started to circulate that he had suffered a rather disgraceful and embarrassing loss to someone. Since then I have heard from random sources that he has become obsessed with restoring his reputation any way he can." Robin looked around the table and found that she had a rather attentive audience even Luffy was paying attention to the story and Zoro was staring at her with an intense look. "I'm sorry to say that is all I know about this group. I will look into Navigator-san's books after lunch. Maybe they will hold some more information."

After eating their early lunch, the crew got down to work, fixing the ship and getting ready to set sail again. Robin went to the library to see if they had any information on the band of fishman pirates or their island. Franky and Ussop continued to work on the helm hurrying to finish as quickly as possible. The captain sat on his special seat, the lion head of Sunny, and just looked out to the horizon.

Luffy didn't feel like being with his nakama right now. It was his fault that Nami was gone. If only he could have reacted faster, if he had taken it more seriously, then she could be here and safe. Looking back he knew he could have gone to Gear Second and saved her, for some reason though he didn't, he had panicked. Which he rarely ever did and that confused him. When he had heard her scream out his name and had seen her lying there bleeding on the deck all rational thought seemed to escape him all he could see was Nami and that shitty bastard standing over her. Gear Second never even crossed his mind. He had wanted to feel it, as he ripped apart that pirate, in Gear Second his blood pumped so fast that those kinds of sensations were dulled.

'What am I thinking?' The captain shook his head, he was sure he had never had any thoughts like this before, even when Robin was captured. Or his fight with Crocodile and even when that candle guy messed with the giant's fight. He had never wanted to tear apart anyone with more certainty then this fishy bastard. But why did he think that?

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Three days after finally getting Sunny able to sail again the crew anxiously waited to spot the island Robin had mentioned no one wanted to say it but they were all worried about their missing nakama. Most of the crew hid their worry well, each one trying to go about business as usual, but the tense atmosphere on the ship was unmistakable. It just wasn't the same without the fiery orange haired navigator to keep everyone in line.

Thanks to her expertise about the Grand Line and the fact that she was now the least crazy of the Strawhat's, Robin had been nominated to step in for Nami. She had been doing her best to navigate the ship safely, she was doing alright so far, but she just didn't have Nami's intuition. Luckily the weather had cleared up considerably after that first day and it was now clear and smooth sailing. Out of the whole crew, amazingly, it was Robin who kept everyone looking on the positive side.

Franky would disappear for hours into the depths of the ship working continually on something or other in his workshop. Ussop would often times join him and when the two were asked what they were doing both answered that it was easier to keep busy in order to not let the worry get to them. It was obvious though the tactic wasn't working as well as they had hoped.

Chopper seemed to take it pretty hard. No matter how optimistic Luffy was about getting Nami back the youngest pirate was overly worried about the welfare of the older girl. When he had heard from Luffy about the state he had last seen Nami the little reindeer had known she could be in serious trouble. Nami had filled a, sort of, big sister role for the youngest Strawhat pirate and he teared up just thinking that she was in the hands of a dangerous guy like Montaru.

Both Zoro and Sanji fought more and more often. They would start an argument even over the slightest thing and now Nami wasn't there to knock some sense into them. After the first day or two Sanji pretty much went back to normal though he spent a lot more time cooped up in the kitchen away from the crew and he seemed less enthusiastic about the usual things. Zoro was the one who seemed the most unfazed by the situation and only Luffy was privileged enough to know that the swordsman was also worried of course the rubber boy was threatened with death if he ever told anybody.

As for the rubber captain himself, he tried his best to keep his nakama's spirits up but his own mood had taken a rather deep dive at the loss of his orange haired navigator. The feeling of guilt was tearing him apart. So far he had managed to keep the others from worrying too much but he suspected that Robin already knew. He didn't understand why he felt this depressed, he had no doubts that he would get Nami back but without her around he just didn't feel right. He spent hours each day sitting on his seat staring into the horizon trying to figure this feeling out or try to catch first sight of the awaited island.

True to Robin's calculations it was early afternoon on the third day when Ussop alerted everyone on the ship that an island was in sight at last. Ussop watched from the crow's nest as the captain came barreling out of the kitchen and to the front of the ship, it had taken a full ten seconds for Luffy to show himself, longer than the curly haired sharpshooter had estimated.

Luffy rushed to Sunny's bow where Robin was already standing. "It should take us another hour or so before we actually reach the island." Robin told her excited captain.

"What's this island called Robin?" Luffy asked, anticipating the arrival on the small sized island.

The archeologist thought back to the map she found in the library. "It's called Komakai Island,* though that's all I know about it I'm afraid." Robin watched the island come closer before turning to head back to the Aquarium room. "We'll have to find out how long it takes for the log pose to reset here and any information we can gather about the merman base." She informed the captain as she passed by.

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When the navigator awoke, in what she assumed was a few hours, she found a stale loaf of bread lying at her feet. Nami groggily rubbed at her eyes trying to clear them before leaning forward to pick up the small piece of bread trying not to move her injured shoulder. The girl debated with herself over accepting the food but ultimately decided living came before her pride and she also needed to keep her strength up in order to escape when the time came. Her thoughts casually drifted to her crew while she nibbled on the hard piece of bread to be more specific Nami was thinking of her captain. 'I wonder what he…uh …what the others are doing? Will they really come after me?' The orange haired girl dropped her head with this depressing line of thought.

She all too quickly finished the bread and regretted not eating dinner with the crew before Montaru showed up. Nami held her head in her hands as she tried to ignore the painful throbbing of her shoulder. She was sure Montaru wanted to kill her because of that time even though it had happened so long ago. Still trying not to think about what the vicious shark had in store Nami drifted into an uneasy sleep.

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"Hey human, are ya dead yet?" Nami heard a voice speaking to her through the darkness. She opened her eyes to see a peachy colored merman standing outside her cell trying to see if the she was still alive. The teenage girl slowly sat up and the fishy pirate gave a sigh of relief. "Oh you're alive and breathin' that's good. I wouldn' want ta be the one to tell the Captn' his new prisoner was dead." The fishman let out a laugh as he walked closer to the cell bars.

Now that Nami got a closer look at him, she saw the fishman was around her age maybe a little older, possibly twenty-two or twenty-three. "H..how long have… I…" Nami tried to question him but found it difficult to form words. However long she had been captive it was long enough for her throat to go completely dry. The fishman found her difficulty amusing as he laughed at her attempt. Nami scowled and tried again. "How l…long have I been held here?" She finally managed to get out.

Still chuckling, at least the pirate answered her. "It's been two days since we picked ya up. We'll be dockin' soon at our base and you'll get ta see where you'll be stayin' until we're done with ya." The young merman broke out into more laughter at the expression on the human girl's face and he headed back up on deck no doubt to report to his captain.

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It was some hours later when Nami saw two fishmen come down the stairs one carrying a set of keys and the other one had a length of rope. The thin blue skinned fishman with the keys began to unlock her door letting the green colored stingray fishman that held the rope through. The ray roughly tied her hands behind her back again causing her to cry out in pain before he jerked her up to stand on unsteady feet. The floor swayed beneath her as she was shoved out of the cell and up the stairs onto the deck. Nami flinched away at the first bit of sunlight she had seen in days, the brightness making her eyes burn. Her hesitation just caused her escort to push her roughly across the deck as she tried to let her eyes adjust.

The girl could feel herself being led off the ship onto solid ground and when her eyes finally did adjust to the light she got a good look at Montaru's home base. It was easily twice as big as Arlong Park though instead of one main building that was several stories tall this compound was spread out over most of the small island. The stingray type merman escorting her didn't leave much time for gawking as he pulled her into the large central building the other escort following close behind. On the way to wherever it was they were leading her she was made to walk at a fast pace one which her bruised and weakened body greatly protested. Nami tried not to stumble or fall as she was led through a set of double doors into a long rectangular room with a pool stretching down the center of it. At the opposite end of the room sat Montaru and Nami didn't remove her hardened gaze from him as she was led down the whole length of the room to stand in front of the captain of the fishmen pirates.

Montaru stood as she approached in mock courtesy. "Welcome to my home, Nami. I hope you enjoyed your trip here in your 'complementary' room." The shark-man gave a boisterous laugh at his own joke, quickly joined by the other fishmen hanging around the pool.

"Montaru, where's my crew, what did you do to them?" Nami demanded as soon as the laughter died down.

The shark-man smirked as he looked at his prisoner. "So demanding Nami, you haven't changed at all, but I'll go ahead and tell you. That so called captain of yours didn't put up much of a fight to rescue you. He was probably too happy to get rid of a little bitch like you or maybe it was the sea stone rings all ten of my officers wear." Montaru held up his clawed hand for Nami to see and sure enough, all five fingers had a thick sea stone ring on it.

It was then that Nami thought back to the gathering of mermen on Sunny's deck. She had recognized a few of Montaru's top guys among them but she didn't know they had gotten hold of sea stone. Much less turned it into a weapon similar to a set of brass knuckles. It suddenly made sense to the navigator, those rings being in contact with Luffy must have weakened him, and that coupled with the fact that it was all ten of Montaru's officers against him would surely have slowed the rubber boy down. It was then that Nami's attention was brought back to the situation at hand.

"Alright you scumbags listen up," Montaru called attention from his crew immediately. He gestured to the orange haired navigator standing in front of him, "This human is going to be staying with us for a while," he told the group in a sarcastic tone, "and no one but me is allowed to touch her."

Nami looked up at him in suspicion wondering where he was going with this and then she looked back at the crowd of pirates in the room to gauge their reactions. She didn't have to wonder about it long as a quick movement caught her eye and suddenly a large webbed fist planted itself into her stomach sending the girl into coughing fits as she fell to her knees in pain and almost blacked out again. "I want that pleasure all to myself." The leader continued as he grabbed Nami by her hair and dragged her to stand on her feet. Montaru pushed the girl backwards into the two mermen that were leading her before. "Take her to her room and be sure to take the precautions I've told you. You can't trust this little bitch." The two mermen nodded and dragged the still dazed navigator away.

=O=O=O=

Ok, yes, I know there wasn't much going on in this chapter but that's why it's called transitional. By the way, the thing about Gear Second pumping Luffy's blood too fast is totally made up, I have no idea if it's true. For this fic however we'll say it is. Next chapter we find the Strawhat's finally landing on Komakai Island, and get some bad news about Montaru, meanwhile Nami isn't one to just sit around and wait to be rescued so she tries to escape for herself. I'll see you soon.

I have just realized that with this chapter I passed the 15,000 word mark. So in celebration you won't have to wait till the end of Feb. for the next chapter. Which was my original plan and if your not happy with that everyone also gets a cookie. 8)

Just to let ya'll know:***** Komakai is Japanese for small. Since this is a small island, and will play just a small part in this story as a whole, it will mainly be used as information gathering by the Strawhat crew.


	5. Unexpected Ally

GreenCyberWolf: Ok not much to say for this chapter. As always a huge thank you to those who reviewed, you're the ones who keep this fic going. Schoolwork is finally starting to pick up now, so I don't know exactly when I'll be able to update again, though hopefully it will be fairly soon. Also my biggest accomplishment this week… I finally got Luffy to stop whining.

Luffy: I wasn't whining.

GreenCyberWolf: No you're right, it was more like pouting.

Luffy: Well at least there's some interesting stuff this chapter and not all boring like last chapter.

GreenCyberWolf: Hey watch it Rubber Boy. I'm still the author here and you're one key stroke away from being a write-off. On a happier note let's get on with the story.

Disclaimer: If One Piece were mine I'd have Luffy and Nami together already but they're not so I'm just gonna have to settle for fanfiction (for now)

_"talking"  
__'thinking'  
flashback_

**-  
Nami's Returning Nightmare  
Ch. 5  
Unexpected Ally  
-**

The Strawhat crew finally arrived on Komakai Island and anchored the Thousand Sunny about two miles down the shore from the small port town the crew didn't want to cause a panic before gathering the supplies and information they would need. Sanji and Chopper needed to restock their food and medical supplies and Robin was in charge of gathering information on the merman pirates.

As Robin climbed off the ship and started down the beach Luffy jumped down and ran after her. "Robin wait," the captain called out as he caught up to the archeologist. "I'm going with you." His voice left no room for arguments.

Robin raised an eyebrow questioningly at that but only nodded and continued toward the town with Luffy tagging along. The first stop Robin made was to the local inn. The people seemed pleasant enough and the innkeeper was a balding cheerful man with a welcoming smile. "Innkeeper-san, I was wondering if you could answer a few questions for me." Robin asked the man as she walked up to him. He set down his rag that he was using to wipe down a table and nodded.

"Of course young lady, what can I do for you?" The grey haired old man asked.

"Would you happen to know how long the log pose takes to reset here?" Robin smiled as Luffy listened impatiently.

"Certainly, many people come through here you know and this is the only place to stay in this town. The log takes exactly one day to set. Can I ask where you two are headed?"

Luffy frowned and jumped in before Robin could answer.

"Hey, I wanna know about those pirates." He stared at the innkeeper who looked very confused at the boy's outburst.

"What pirates would that be boy? Most pirates tend to stay away from such a poor town like this though there are..." He paused and seemed to think about what he was going to say. "No that can't be. What's a kid like you doing looking for them?" The old man rubbed the top of his balding head in a nervous gesture.

"Them who, innkeeper-san?" Robin asked never losing her polite smile.

The innkeeper jerked his head up and stared at the smiling archeologist. He no longer wore his cheerful smile. "It's nobody, young lady. Nobody young people like you need to mess with." The man glanced nervously around his inn as though afraid someone might be listening. "Now if that's all I suggest you take your leave." The gray haired man turned and quickly walked away from the pair of pirates.

Robin shrugged and led Luffy out the door. "Robin, what are we doing, I wanted to hear about those…"

"That man wasn't going to tell us anything, Captain-san. He was much too scared." Robin answered.

"Scared? We're trying to find Nami! I'll go and make him tell." Luffy started back toward the inn but was held back by many of Robin's hands.

"Captain-san, I don't believe you are thinking with a clear head." Robin said to the struggling rubber boy. "I think those mermen have control over this island, at least to an extent. The innkeeper was most likely afraid to be found giving away any information on these pirates. I'm sure it will be difficult to find anyone here willing to help us." Robin told the still fuming Luffy. She then released him. Luffy stood still for a minute his straw hat covering his eyes. Then he whirled around and silently started walking up the street with Robin beside him.

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Franky had left a bit later than everyone else leaving Ussop and Zoro in charge of guarding the ship because he needed to pick up some spare parts while on the island. While roaming the town he ran across Chopper heading to a medical supply store and the two stopped to get a snack from a small shop located off the main road. Afterwards the two crewmates parted ways and Franky continued his search for a spare parts shop.

After a short search the blue haired cyborg found what he was looking for. Luckily the store had the parts he needed and he was in and out fairly quickly. Upon exiting the store Franky noticed a loud commotion nearby he looked over to the right and saw a thin but muscular merman harassing a young woman tending her shop.

"Oi, I don't think that Nee-san wants you bugging her." Franky said loudly getting the attention of the skinny blue merman.

The fishman turned slowly to glare at the intruder. "What did you say human? You think you can do something?" Franky just smirked as his eyes narrowed behind his shades.

The two pirates faced off in the street, the crowd that had gathered before backed away in fear, and the young woman took shelter in her shop. Franky was the one to move first. He pulled the fake skin off his metal right and left hands then sent his right fist flying toward the confused looking fishman. The agile merman was able to dodge, but just barely. However, he wasn't able to dodge Franky's left hand that came flying right behind the other, and the merman was sent tumbling through the dirt a few shops away. Both hands came reeling back to the blue haired shipwright and he readied his next attack.

The merman got shakily to his feet only to meet with a barrage of punches from the cyborg. "Franky Boxing!" Franky called out as he continued to hit his opponent. With one final right punch Franky sent the fishman falling to the dusty ground, bloody and unconscious. "Suuupa payback!" Franky struck his pose for the stunned crowd and then amidst the soft murmurs and whispers of the people he gathered the parts and headed back to the ship.

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Sanji was enjoying the usual hustle and bustle of the busy marketplace the familiar atmosphere helped to take his mind off the situation that the crew now faced. The feeling wasn't to last however when the cook stopped by a fruit stand drawn in by one fruit in particular. Oranges. Sanji smiled sadly at the sudden reminder that his beautiful Nami wasn't here to enjoy herself with him. The blonde shook himself slightly as he noticed the fruit seller staring at him curiously and quickly moved on to the next stand.

One more stop and the cook was headed out of the market square. He was walking down one of the less busy side streets when he saw Chopper walk out of a small building with a large brown bag and several small boxes all wrapped tightly. The doctor was in Heavy point in order to carry all the supplies he had bought. Sanji walked up to him so the two could go back to the ship together.

On the way back Chopper kept looking over at Sanji with a worried expression. Finally the cook asked him about it. "Chopper, why do you keep looking at me like that?"

Chopper 'eeped' and looked away realizing he had been caught. "Uh…well, you just don't look too good Sanji. You look tired. Have you been having trouble sleeping?" He asked going fully into doctor mode.

"Eh? No of course not Chopper." Sanji said not looking the human-reindeer in the eye. They kept walking in silence for a while until Sanji sighed. "Do I really look that bad?"

"Well, not any worse than the others." Chopper told him. "You shouldn't stay cooped up by yourself so much though."

Sanji gave a small placating grin to the young reindeer. "Whatever you say Dr. Chopper."

"That doesn't make me happy, Baka."

"What about you Chopper? I've noticed you haven't been sleeping lately either." It was Sanji's turn to question the young doctor as the pair walked down the beach towards the ship.

Chopper frowned and didn't look at Sanji. "I'm really worried about Nami, and I keep thinking about what Luffy said. It sounded like she was hurt pretty bad. Her injuries are going to need medical attention. I'm worried about her."

"You're not alone Chopper. We're all really worried about her." Sanji climbed up the ladder of Sunny and helped Chopper up with his load of stuff.

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After about two and a half hours of searching with no information, Luffy and Robin were headed back to the ship, and passed by a rundown tavern. The two stopped when they heard a ruckus from inside the bar and a shabby looking man came tumbling out the door.

The man had to be mid-forties and about as rundown looking as his bar. His shabby beard was in serious need of a trim and his long thinning hair was held back by a torn cloth. The man picked himself up from the street as a muscular green skinned merman walked calmly out of the building.

"You filthy human, what do you think you can accomplish by standing against us alone." The merman easily brought the older man back down to the ground with a hard punch.

Luffy wasted no time jumping in-between the merman and the human man. "Gomu Gomu no Pistol!" He cried shooting his fist forward. It hit the surprised merman dead on and sent him flying a few yards down the road. Luffy growled as he watched the merman slowly stand back up. The barman had hurriedly distanced himself from the stretchy teenager and stood in the doorway of his bar staring in amazement at the fight.

"Who the hell are you?" The merman asked also staring at Luffy. "Do you have a death wish?" The merman pulled out a large curved dagger and held it threateningly toward Luffy. The rubber captain didn't seem to notice the blade.

Luffy scowled at the other pirate. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy, and you're one of the guys that took Nami, so now I'm gonna kick your ass."

The merman looked slightly confused. "Who the hell are you talking about? I've been in this village for two weeks, I didn't take anybody. Although," he smirked, "I wouldn't put it past my captain to kidnap some pathetic little pirate and bring 'em back for some fun." The lone fishman chuckled nastily at the strawhat captain as he wiped some blood from his lip.

Luffy stood there in a fighting position his eyes glared through the arrogant merman and the fishman involuntarily stepped back. As the armed fishman blinked Luffy jumped into action. He grabbed the knife and easily wrenched it out of his opponent's hand he then threw it behind him carelessly. After Luffy disarmed the merman he jumped back doing a backflip and landed a few feet away.

Luffy was done toying with this merman. The rubber boy charged down the road and brought both fists back. He skidded to a stop only feet from his opponent and let both his arms fly forward. "Gomu Gomu no Bazooka!" He called out slamming the surprised fishman in the gut and sending him flying into the distance.

The old man stood staring out in the direction of the flying fish but when Luffy turned to leave he quickly motioned for the boy to come inside. Luffy followed the grubby looking man without hesitation into the building Robin curiously followed her captain and the stranger quickly locked the door behind them. He turned to face the two pirates. "You are the people who are asking around about Montaru's gang?"

Neither Robin nor Luffy looked surprised as they nodded. "Yeah, that half-fish bastard kidnapped one of my nakama. We're going to get her back. Then I'm going to kick his ass!" Luffy grinned confidently.

The older man stared dumbfounded at the teenager in front of him. "I don't think you know who exactly you're going up against boy."

"Can you tell us anything about these pirates Mr…?" Robin paused.

The man scowled, "My name isn't important. The point is that if your friend has been taken by that monster…" The stranger closed his eyes and sighed. "If your friend has been taken, you probably don't want her back." Luffy looked about ready to blow up at the man but he was cut off. "I've seen the end results of being held captive there. Those few that are able to return alive well let's say it's not pretty."

The man motioned for them to sit down at one of the dusty tables and he went over to the bar and made everyone a drink then began to talk while serving it to them. "That Montaru, he has always been cruel to humans. Both him and his brother, a pirate by the name of Arlong, they think we're inferior species or something. Montaru was based near here before he traveled to East Blue to try and convince his brother to come back to the Grand Line. After a year away he returned with just his crew and he was even more hostile towards us humans," the man paused to take a drink then continued, "I heard this information second hand you know. I used to run a supply ship to his base and I overheard one of his crew talking about it once."

The stranger took another gulp, "I heard that while visiting his brother Montaru picked a fight with some little kid and if you can believe this Montaru lost the fight. This kid wasn't even an experienced fighter. I didn't hear how they did it or what happened to them after that though. Anyway as you can probably imagine Montaru was disgraced and embarrassed at having lost to a human child. To a pirate like him, pride is everything, and for someone to injure that pride it's a major thing. So now he takes it out on all the humans. I'll tell ya, if I were that kid I'd want to stay as far away from him as possible." The man nodded in a knowing fashion as he looked at Robin and Luffy in turn seeing that they understood.

"Why are you telling us this information? The other townspeople seem very afraid to even speak about these pirates." Robin asked staring hard at the man.

The older man downed the rest of his drink and stared at the table for a long moment. "I had taken my younger sister on a supply trip to the base. I figured it was safe. They had never really bothered with me before you see. While I was unloading the ship my sister was sitting by the water near the docks, Montaru saw her there, I had only seen him a few times before. That piece of shit. He took my little sister and his crew forced me to sail away without her." The stranger put his face in his hands and took a few moments to compose himself before continuing. "None of the townspeople would help me, they considered her a lost cause, but the next month on my supply run I swore to get her back. When I got to the island however, my sister was there waiting for me, or what was left of my sister."

Robin gasped as a horrified look came into her eyes while Luffy just continued his hard stare at the man. The scrubby old bartender, upon seeing Robin's look, quickly shook his head. "No, you misunderstand, my sister wasn't dead." He stopped as a pained look showed on his face. "Although I'm sure she wished she was. My sister was beaten so badly she didn't even look like herself anymore, her body was covered with horrible scars, and when she was able to sleep she was plagued by nightmares. There was nothing I or anyone could do for her. She suffered like this for nearly a year before her heart finally had enough and she died." Tears were now rolling down the older man's face and he tried to quickly wipe them away.

Luffy abruptly stood, his chair legs scraping against the dirty wooden floor. His hands were clenched at his sides and his straw hat was pulled down over his eyes. "Old Man, he has my navigator and I'm going to get her back and then I _will kick his ass_." Robin had heard Luffy say these words before this time though it sent shivers down her spine. Luffy's tone was unlike anything she had heard him use before. It was calm and cold with such a dark tone she wouldn't have believed it could come from such a carefree person and his voice carried with it a certainty that not even the seas themselves would dare stand in his way.

The Strawhat captain turned and walked out of the building. Robin stood to follow but the older man stopped her. "I do have one piece of advice that will help. When you reach the island sail around to the back side, it is all forest between there and the base you will have a better chance of avoiding detection." Robin nodded. "Also, this will help. That way you won't have to worry about waiting for your pose to set." The man tossed the archeologist an eternal pose with the name of the merman's island base on it. Robin thanked the man then turned and followed Luffy outside.

The two pirates walked back to Sunny in silence when they got back to the ship the rest of the crew had already returned. Sanji was cooking dinner while everyone else was on deck. Luffy climbed on board and without looking at anyone went directly to the men's quarters. The crew all looked to Robin curiously.

"So how did the search go?" Franky asked her.

Robin sighed. "It was difficult, the mermen seem to have a strong influence over this island but we did manage to find someone who shared some disturbing information." The archeologist then relayed the story the old barman had shared with them.

"Damn, it seems we're up against a real sick bastard." Franky commented after hearing the whole story.

Zoro grunted as he leaned against the mast. "Even so, nothing changes the fact that it will be another couple of days before we can even reach this island." The swordsman grimly reminded everyone.

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The early evening sunlight slanted through the barred windows lighting up the plain white stone walls of the small room with a reddish orange color. Nami would have called it pretty if not for the situation she had found herself in. She sat on the small hard bed with her hands still bound behind her from earlier. She had been sitting here for the last few minutes or so and was grateful Montaru hadn't already come to pay her a visit. She worked her hands tiredly against the ropes trying to free herself, once again, but she wasn't sure what she was going to do afterwards. Whatever it was she decided to do though she needed her hands free first.

The navigator's head was spinning from hunger and blood loss, her shoulder and wrist provided an almost constant pain, and she was certain this was just the beginning of what Montaru had in mind. She knew there were guards posted outside of her door and that she was near the center of the fishman base. Other than that she had no clue how to get out of here. The interior of the base was like a maze even with her exceptional sense of direction it would be difficult to find a way out and not get caught.

'I have to get out of here. If I know Montaru he won't wait for Luffy to get here before killing me.' She continued to work her hands against the ropes trying to ignore the pain that it caused her injuries. After a few more moments her slender hands slipped through the bindings and she was free. Nami then spent the next few minutes going over the small sized room making sure there were no hidden escape routes. Of course there weren't. Montaru wasn't as stupid as that. Next she moved over to check the hinges, lock, and the door itself looking for weakness she could exploit in the future.

The navigator heard a key turn in the lock as she was finishing with her investigation. The door handle turned and she was forced to back up as the door swung open to reveal the creature she most definitely did not want to see. She knew that whatever Montaru had in store for her it was not going to be a pleasant experience. The large merman sauntered through the door securely closing it behind him then turned to sneer in the navigator's direction.

Montaru continued to move forward causing Nami to back herself into the wall, her body began to tremble but she forced herself to face the merman anyway. He stopped a few paces away smirking down at her smaller form. "I see you've managed to get free again. You really are an annoying human and it seems you're just as hard to pin down as before." Montaru growled and his webbed hands formed into fists.

"Well you know me Monty. I always find my way out eventually." Nami said sarcastically with a defiant smirk at her captor.

The words had barley left her mouth when a fist slammed into the side of her head making the girl see stars as she crashed to the floor. Montaru grabbed the back of her t-shirt and jerked her upward only to immediately backhand her across the opposite side of her face sending her staggering backwards. Nami fell and again met with the floor. All she could do was groan in pain as she lay on the ground her head spinning. The shark-man glared down at her as he brought his foot back and sent a forceful kick to her abdomen. Nami instinctively curled into a ball as she felt a crack in the area of her ribcage. She ground her teeth together as pain blossomed throughout her chest it hurt to breathe or even to move and the throbbing of her shoulder kept in sync with the pounding in her head. It was all she could do not to pass out on the spot. Although now that Nami thought about it blacking out would be a blessed relief from her nightmarish reality. However brief it was.

Fortunately for the girl the beating was interrupted by a heavy knock on the door. Montaru cursed out loud and stomped over to yell at whoever had disturbed him and his fun. Nami barely registered the voices or what they were saying in such a low tone that is until Montaru's voice drifted through the haze of her mind. "It looks like we'll have to continue this later girl." Then with a slam of the door he was gone leaving a very grateful but barely conscious Nami behind.

The orange haired navigator lay on the floor for several minutes fighting the darkness threatening to wash over her. Nami slowly, painfully, got to her hands and knees. Her body shaking with the effort of supporting her weight. Blood dripped to the floor from her busted lip and a large cut on her cheek the beaten teenager used her remaining energy to crawl over to the bed and apply the sheets to the reopened wound on her shoulder to help stem the flow of blood. Her right wrist had long ago gone numb and was basically useless for much of anything and with each breath she took waves of pain coursed through her chest and ribs. Nami sat there on the bed surrounded by blood stained sheets. Her entire body wracked with pain, her thoughts centering on her captain, and on what he could possibly be doing now. He would come after her, Nami knew that, but she also knew that she didn't want him to. Thankfully she slipped into an unfeeling darkness soon after her body and mind not being able to continue anymore.

**XxX**

_An injured Nami ran down the dirt path as fast as her beaten body would allow, she had to stop for breath a few times, but she was determined to get to Arlong Park and hopefully save Dai. The wounds she got from the beating earlier slowed her down. As she got closer the clashing of swords over the increasing drone of voices and cheering reached her ears. She was too late. Nami managed to push open the heavy gate and entered the compound. She was immediately faced with her childhood friend locking swords with her main tormentor, Montaru._

_Arlong was sitting back in his chair and grinning like he was watching the two play a game. When he saw her enter he called out above the ruckus. "Nami, glad you could finally make it back. We were just about to dispatch this little pest." The pirate laughed as he turned back to the fight and continued in a louder voice. "That is if Monty is done playing with him."_

_An almost feral growl came from Montaru's direction. "Brother, how many times do I have to tell you," he pushed down on Dai's sword with even more force causing the homemade weapon to fly from its owner's grasp, "not to call me by that name?" The blade slid along the ground coming to rest near Nami's feet. It was then Montaru looked over at her, "Look who finally made it to the show, you traitorous little bitch, you set this up didn't you?" To say Nami was shocked by this accusation would be an understatement. However she didn't say anything to encourage this paranoid, and partially correct, thought process of Montaru's. "How much did you pay this little bastard to come here and challenge me to this embarrassment of a duel? Are you trying to humiliate me in front of my crew?"_

"_What are you talking about? I didn't pay him to do anything." Nami said truthfully as she glared at the large shark-man. "Although I can see why you're mad, this guy looks completely unharmed, while you have that nasty looking cut on your arm." She said indicating the merman's left arm where Dai had left a long deep cut. 'What's with him? If I knew aggravating his pride would get under his skin this much I would have done it sooner.' _

_Montaru snarled at her as he lunged past Dai, the boy whirled around, unsure of what the shark was doing. Dai saw that he was heading in Nami's direction and that his friend was frozen in shock. The young teen dashed forward trying to get to Nami before Montaru._

_Nami couldn't move as she closed her eyes tight waiting for the sword to come down on her. Suddenly she felt a splash of warm thick liquid hit her face she opened her eyes and found it was blood but it wasn't hers. The young girl slowly gazed up in front of her and couldn't tear her eyes away from the horrifying scene. _

_Montaru's sword had come down in a clean arc, slicing into Dai's chest, instead of her own. The boy coughed up blood as he took a shaky step forward. "Your fight is with me fishman. There's no need to bring the girl into this." His breathing was shallow and labored and Nami could tell he was having trouble speaking. Dai wobbled on his feet, his eyes lost focus, and he fell to the ground in a bloody heap. _

_Nami felt sick she couldn't even bring herself to look at her fallen friend instead her eyes focused on his sword lying at her feet. Something in Nami's mind snapped, she picked up Dai's sword, then stood between the vicious merman and him. She completely ignored the fact that she was surrounded by monsters and could be crushed at any time and the fact that her weakened body protested every move she made._

_The pirates around her were unexpectedly silent as they watched the confrontation seeing as not one of them had the guts to stand up to the younger shark brother. Now in the same day two kids try to go head to head with him, one an upstart teenager, and then their youngest member._

"_Nami, what do you think you're doing?" Arlong asked clearly annoyed. He was standing by this time and glaring down at his young map maker. _

_Nami wasn't listening to him, it was usually not a good idea to ignore Arlong, but she figured Montaru was going to kill her anyway. "Listen Montaru, I am through being your personal punching bag. It's going to end now one way or the other." _

"_You troublesome little brat. What do you think you can do with that sword?" Montaru sneered at the young girl, raising his own sword in an attack position. Thinking this would be too easy he charged carelessly at Nami, and swung his blade in a quick sweep which the girl barely avoided thanks to her natural reflexes. _

_The shark growled out in agitation and lunged forward again. In his frustration he recklessly left himself open on the left side. Nami quickly brought her sword up ready to do what she could against him. Barely dodging Montaru's deadly attack again but refusing to back down she drove the crudely made sword deep into the left shoulder of the large merman. Earning herself a slight gash where Montaru's sword had just sliced her side._

_Nami pulled the sword out as Montaru stumbled back from shock more than pain as the whole compound erupted into either cheers or taunts some even coming from his own men. The whole crowd of mermen were either cheering for Nami finally giving the arrogant pirate what he had coming or taunted Montaru for even being scratched by a little human kid._

_The girl stood back ready for another attack, she was shaking slightly and breathing hard as she waited, Nami was amazed that Arlong's crew was actually cheering for her. Which showed just how much of an annoyance Montaru was. Then she noticed that Montaru was too busy yelling at the jeering spectators to concern himself with continuing the fight. It seemed to be over. The orange haired girl silently moved over to Dai's side and knelt down as his blood pooled around him. Nami didn't expect him to still be alive much less able to talk but as usual he surprised her. _

"_I guess I can't be your hero after all." Dai's voice was weak it was just loud enough for her to hear. "I'm sorry N…Nami, I won't be able to st…stay with ya to the end of this. I was just try…trying to protect my n…nakama." He struggled to keep talking but his eyes had closed and his breathing had gotten even fainter._

_The orange haired girl shook her head, "I'm the one who should be sorry Dai, for dragging you into this mess." Nami's voice was just above a whisper as she laid his sword down next to him. "This is all my fault." She put a hand against his blood soaked chest. There was no rise or fall. "You can't leave like this Dai, who's going to be my hero now?" Nami stood up, eyes glistening with tears as she looked down. She was having a lot of trouble putting her mask back together. Once she was sure that it was ok she made her way back into the cheering group of pirates._

"_Boys," Arlong called out over all the noise, "we're going to celebrate our little navigator's first victory in battle." This announcement was naturally met with a cheer of approval from Arlong's crew, not so much from Montaru's. As Nami limped away from her dead friend she couldn't believe she was still alive and that they were actually celebrating for her. Did they really look at her as part of the crew so easily? Pirates sure were stupid._

_Montaru came up to his older brother a definite scowl on his face blood was staining the front of his shirt but it didn't look like he cared. "What do you mean victory? I could crush that pathetic little brat." He pointed at the young navigator his shoulders shaking in rage. _

_Arlong merely looked at his younger brother with a hard stare, a frown coming onto his face. "You walked away in the middle of the fight Monty. Therefore you lose by forfeit. You have disgraced the merman race and it's only lucky that you are my brother." _

"_You say I am a disgrace, what about you Brother, you have abandoned the role you held on the Grand Line and then came here. You've come to this weak little sea to bully these weak little humans that pose no challenge for us. I am here to try to get you to come back with me to the Grand Line but after a full year I've had enough of it and I'm going back to the Grand Line. That's where there are real challenges for me." Montaru scowled as he stared down his brother. His sudden decision was met with even more cheers and laughter from Arlong's crew._

_Some random merman actually had the nerve to call out, "Hey Montaru, how are you gonna handle real pirates when you can't even beat an injured little girl?"_

_Nami didn't pay anymore more attention after that. The fact that she had won and would actually live was finally sinking in and then there was Dai. She stumbled to the outside of the crowd and leaned against the wall of the tall building weakly sliding to the ground she placed a hand over the small flesh wound Montaru had given her. She would have to get Dai's body back to the village somehow and explain what happened. She was not looking forward to that but she'd be damned if she left him here._

**XxX**

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Montaru stomped down the hallway furious about the disruption but not daring to refuse meeting with one of the four emperors, even if the guy was an idiot. He arrived in the large gathering area where his visitor was waiting and was immediately greeted by a loud annoying voice. "Oi, Monty, long time no see." Red hair and a scarred face were the first aspects of Red Haired Shanks that the merman took notice of upon first seeing the pirate lord waiting for him as several of the man's crew stood behind him.

The large shark scowled down at the smaller man. "What do you want Red Hair? Don't you have anyone else to annoy?" He asked as he sat down in his throne-like chair.

Shanks just let out a loud laugh. "Well we were just passing through and I happen to think that I haven't paid you a visit in some time and we should catch up." Shanks gave an annoying kind of grin in the obviously irritated merman's direction. "So what do say?"

Montaru just sighed in annoyance. "Even if I told you to leave, you wouldn't do it, and you aren't worth the fight. So I might as well invite you." Montaru cursed under his breath, Nami just got a reprieve.

"Alright then boys, tomorrow we're having a party for our friends here to repay their hospitality!" Shanks yelled happily to his men, who then cheered along with some of the fishmen hanging around the room. Montaru's aggravated shout of, "We are NOT friends!" fell on deaf ears as the human's returned to their ship.

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The next day Montaru couldn't convince Shanks to leave him in peace and therefore couldn't have his fun with the little human in his possession. He knew the red haired pirate wouldn't allow the beating he had in mind for the girl. Instead he spent the day, unsuccessfully, trying to avoid the pirate lord and his crew.

Much later that night the party was in full swing, the loud and rowdy pirates were having a great time. The Red Haired pirates and the fishmen pirates were scattered around the large pool drinking and laughing together. Shanks was wandering through the twisted halls of the merman base, he had left the festivities to go relieve himself but on the way back had gotten himself turned around, as usual for the relaxed captain. The red haired man had been walking around for at least five minutes not seeing one person to ask for directions. Shanks rounded yet another corner and nearly tripped over someone kneeling on the floor. The pirate made a slight sound of surprise as he looked down at, of all things, a human girl. It was common knowledge that Montaru wouldn't hesitate to kill a human so seeing one smack in the middle of the shark-man's base was quite a surprise.

"Excuse me Miss, I didn't you there." Shanks smiled down to the girl. Her orange colored hair covered her face so he couldn't see her expression at first but at the sound of his voice her head shot up to see just who had almost knocked into her. Shanks was taken aback at the state she was in, old and new bruises showed on her face and arms, her wrist was wrapped in a makeshift bandage and her once blue shirt was covered in dark bloodstains. The poor girl seemed to be having some trouble catching her breath and seeing her injuries Shanks wouldn't have been surprised if she had some internal injuries as well.

Nami's dark brown eyes opened in surprise, "Y…you're human?" The injured girl exclaimed in a loud whisper. Then her eyes narrowed and her expression turned hard as she glared at the red haired man in front of her. "Do you work for them, are what?"

That comment greatly amused Shanks and he chuckled at the girl's suspicious nature. "Nope, I don't work for anyone." He kneeled down to her level since she had yet to rise from the floor. "The names' Shanks and I'm just here till we can resupply our ship." The red haired pirate didn't mention the fact that he was the captain of his own pirate crew thinking that it might frighten the young woman needlessly. Even so, the orange haired girl's eyes widened in recognition so he quickly amended the situation before she could assume the wrong thing. "I'm not gonna hurt you, but I am curious as to why a young lady like yourself is here and in such a state as you are."

The navigator regarded the man shrewdly. "My name is Nami and I know who you are. You're the captain of the Red Haired pirates and one of the four emperors of the sea, Red Haired Shanks."

Shanks nodded not surprised in the slightest that this girl knew of his status. "You can just call me Shanks or Captain if you prefer." He said offhandedly leaning back on his heels.

"You're also the pirate that saved Luffy's life and gave him his hat, aren't you?" Nami stated more than asked. Luffy had told her about how he knew Shanks right after they had escaped from Navarone, the marine base they had drifted into coming down from Sky Island, and as far as she knew was the only one of the crew who knew the whole story. Actually she had thrown Luffy's name out there just to see what the pirate's reaction would be.

Nami wasn't disappointed as Shanks's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. "How do you know Luffy? Is he here?" Shanks loudly demanded to know as he all but jumped to his feet.

The girl also stood, a bit shakily and sent a death glare in the direction of the red headed pirate. "Shhh." She shushed him hurriedly. "Of course I know him, I'm his navigator." Nami turned slightly pink at the way her words had come out but shook it off. "Anyway, no, Luffy isn't here. I was kidnapped off our ship after Montaru attacked us." She explained a sad expression coming over her face.

Shanks then gave Nami a confident grin. "Then don't worry about it. If Luffy is still like I remember him he's already on his way here to get you back. He'd never leave a nakama behind." He put a comforting hand on Nami's shoulder but quickly pulled back when she winced from the pressure he applied.

Giving Shanks a sad frown Nami sighed weakly. "I don't want Luffy to come here. I've already caused him too much trouble if Luffy were to face Montaru he would most likely die." Shanks frowned at her but Nami didn't take any notice. "Montaru is using sea-stone. Luffy doesn't have any defense against that and probably doesn't know that Montaru even has it." It seemed to Shanks that this girl had already accepted her fate and also chosen Luffy's for him.

"You seem awfully sure of this outcome, little lady." Shanks told her as a small smile played on his lips.

"I know the depths this guy will sink and I've seen what he can do. I don't think I could take it if I was responsible for another nakama's death at the hands of this bastard." Nami said tightly shutting her eyes against the images that floated across her mind. "It's not like I don't want to continue sailing with Luffy," she said after a moment, "because I do. I don't know what I'd do without him which is why I don't want him to come after me."

Shanks looked the orange haired girl over for a minute, and then his smile turned gentler as he looked down at her, she didn't seem to notice her feelings yet. "You should have more faith in your captain. From the stories I've heard of him lately, he's pretty used to beating the odds, am I right?"

Nami looked up at the older pirate and something seemed to click in her head. "I suppose your right." She said slowly. "That doesn't mean I can't try escaping on my own though." Nami gasped as she realized she had been standing in the middle of the hallway in the middle of the enemy base just chatting away while she could be doing something else. "Which reminds me, I'm kind of in the middle of escaping here, so if you'll excuse me." Nami said turning the corner and began to slowly walk down the hallway stumbling slightly because of her injuries.

Shanks followed the teen around the corner and quickly grabbed her uninjured arm causing the girl to whirl around to face him. "Wait just a minute, have you even thought this out, how are you planning to get off this island? I highly doubt you have a boat stashed around here." He saw her brown eyes open wide in realization. "If you can wait for just a few more days I will help you escape. We have to wait for our ship to be resupplied before we leave. Then we'll take you with us and help you find Luffy and the rest of your crew. I'm sorry that we can't get you out right now because we aren't ready to leave yet and you disappearing so suddenly would make it very difficult for us to do so." Shanks told her in a serious tone. It was the most serious Nami had heard him the entire conversation.

The orange haired navigator turned to look down the empty hallway and then back to the red haired pirate in front of her. She silently weighed the options of her slim to none chance of escaping the island that night or taking the off-chance Montaru wouldn't kill her before Shanks could help. Finally she gave a slight nod in agreement. "Alright, I know Luffy wouldn't hesitate to trust you and I trust him. So I'll wait."

Suddenly the pair heard the sound of heavy footsteps coming toward them. Nami immediately stiffened and Shanks looked around the deserted area for the source of the sound. There was no one in sight, the girl crept to the corner of the hall they had just come from and peeked around the corner. A large clawed hand unexpectedly shot forward, wrapped itself around the navigator's neck, and she was lifted off her feet. Nami was then slammed into the wall behind her causing her to yell out in surprise and pain. Her gaze followed the hand up to the muscular arm and into the extremely pissed off face of Montaru.

=O=O=O=O=

Another cliffhanger, I'm sure you guys just love me right now. ;) Looks like Nami's escape plan didn't go off as she expected, now Montaru is seriously angry, but Shanks is here to help if Luffy can't make it in time.

Just to recap, and before anyone asks, cause I know some of you are thinking this. Shanks isn't going to rescue Nami right now, because 1) his ship isn't resupplied yet, and 2) it would cause to much suspicion if he just up and left suddenly. If that happened all the fishmen would take to the sea and probably seriously damage the Red Force (Shanks's boat) from under the water in an unnecessary bloodbath before he could make a getaway. Pirate emperor or not I don't see a way for the Red Haired pirates to fight an underwater battle. So Shanks has to wait until he is ready to go before sneaking Nami out. Probably most importantly he wants to give Luffy a chance to rescue his own nakama as any good captain should. If you don't like that explanation XP

I hope everyone enjoyed the last flashback chapter for the story. This is the last you'll see of Dai and Nami's past. Although I have been toying with the idea of doing, a sort of prequel going more in detail of those two, spanning from their first meeting to sometime after his death and all the stuff in-between.


	6. No Escaping the Nightmare

GreenCyberWolf: Yes! Its Spring Break next week, I'm done with Ch. 6 and have already started on Ch. 7. I left ya'll with quite a cliffhanger last time so if you've returned I know you don't hate me for it. Thanks to schoolwork my writing has slowed down considerably and don't expect it to get any better. Don't fear it may take me awhile but this story will be completed. So with that I'd like to thank everyone who read and all those who reviewed.

Luffy: Hey Shanks is there, will I get to see him, is he gonna help Nami out? I don't like all this waiting, I gotta rescue Nami, and then I'll kick their asses.

GreenCyberWolf: Calm down Luffy, I can't tell you any of that, it'll spoil the story for everyone else. You'll just have to wait and see.

Luffy: You're mean…

GreenCyberWolf: Yes, I know, I get that a lot.

Disclaimer: No one ever reads these things, so I'm not gonna say it, and you can't make me XP

"talking"  
'thinking'  
_flashback_

**-  
Nami's Returning Nightmare  
Ch. 6  
No Escaping the Nightmare  
-**

Nami cried out as she was unexpectantly slammed into the wall on the other side of the hallway. She gasped as she stared back into the face off a very pissed off merman the wall cracked from the pressure being applied against it. Montaru had his hand wrapped around the girl's throat and was easily suspending her entirely off the ground. The shark-man turned his head slightly to smirk at Shanks, his razor sharp teeth glinting in the light, but he wasn't in the least bit bothered by the struggling young woman he held. "It looks like I have to thank you Red Hair, for delaying my special '_guest'_ and allowing me to find her before she could slip away." Montaru tightened his hold on Nami's neck making her wince in pain. "After all, I've got plans for this human, and it wouldn't do for her to skip out now."

'Damn it! I got too distracted by that idiot Shanks. I can't believe I was caught so easily.' Nami thought as she struggled fruitlessly against Montaru's hold. It was getting harder for her to get a breath as the shark-man's fingers tightened their deadly grip.

Shanks frowned deeply as he watched Nami's windpipe be squeezed shut. "Let the girl go Monty, you're going to kill her at this rate." The red haired pirate let slip a bit of his Haki, just enough to let the merman know he was serious. Shanks didn't really want to fight Montaru if he didn't have to and it just wouldn't do to take Luffy's right to avenge his nakama away from him. Shanks knew that his young friend would want to take care of the pirate himself. Besides, this was strictly between Montaru and Luffy. Getting involved would go against the Old Pirate Code that Shanks happened to hold in high regard. In which it stated that a fight between pirate captains is best left to themselves, it was a rule that Shanks hadn't had a problem with until now.

"Who says that's not my intention?" Replied Montaru angrily, but he loosened his grip on Nami's throat anyway, becoming uneasy at the pirate emperor's intense gaze. The unease only lasted a few moments though as he scowled at Shanks. "Don't interfere with my treatment of this human, Red Hair, she belongs to me and I'll teach her not to run away however I please. A pirate emperor or not you have no say in how I treat my property." Montaru finally lowered Nami so that her feet touched the floor and turned to fully face the red haired man almost daring him to prove otherwise. After a minute of a silent stare down between the two pirates Montaru scoffed. He turned away and started to drag the helpless navigator behind him, being none too gentle.

Shanks continued to stand there in the middle of the hall until he could no longer hear the heavy thud of the shark-man's footsteps or the shuffling of Nami's much lighter step. 'Just hang in there a little longer kid. If Luffy doesn't show then we'll get you out.' The lone pirate then slowly headed in the direction he thought the party was although he wasn't going there to have fun anymore. His party mood had been effectively squashed by the fact that one of Luffy's nakama was in danger.

After about five minutes Shanks finally found his way back to the rowdy celebration and was greeted by his first mate, Ben Beckam, as he walked through the door. "Captain, where have you been?" Ben asked when he got closer to Shanks. The smile died on his lips and his expression turned serious as he looked at his captain. "What is it?" Ben knew something big had to be up to ruin Shanks's mood like this.

"Ben, I've just learned something very important, and we will be leaving as soon as possible." Shanks said quietly as he pulled his grey haired first-mate off to the side. "As soon as the ship is resupplied let me know."

Needless to say this left Ben confused. "Captain, what is going on? Why are we leaving so soon?" Ben wouldn't normally question the captain's orders but Shanks was acting strange.

"I ran into a girl just a little while ago." Ben raised an eyebrow at that but keep silent. Shanks noticed his look and scowled. "It has nothing to do with that. She is one of Luffy's nakama and from what I've seen is in a dangerous situation. So," Shanks lowered his voice even more, "when the ship is ready to leave we will bring her with us."

The first mate looked stunned. "Luffy's nakama? Are you sure Captain?" Shanks nodded but Ben still frowned. "What about the Code, surely you're not thinking of going against it, the rule does say that we can't involve ourselves."

"Yes, I know what the Code states." Shanks almost growled. "But, the Code also says that if all else should fail a representative of the captain or crew can act in their place."

Ben nodded slowly but his friend and captain was overlooking one very important matter.

"Captain, don't you have to be elected by the crew as a representative in order for you to act as such."

Not to be deterred Shanks grinned. "I believe that election came when Nami chose to accept my help and is now trusting me to fulfill my promise." Ben sighed, still sure that his captain was bending the rules by more than a small margin but knowing it was useless anyway.

By the time Shanks had finished reassuring his first mate that he wasn't really breaking the Code and hadn't gone crazy Montaru still hadn't returned. It was nearly forty-five minutes later when the shark-man sauntered back through the door and retook his seat at the far end of the pool.

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**(One Hour Before)**

Montaru roughly dragged the orange haired girl through the twisting halls towards her small cell-like room. Nami struggled and fought him as hard as she could all the way but with her injuries it really didn't amount to much. The two young guards who were posted at her door gave their angry captain a wide berth as he approached, the merman leader slammed open the door, and all but threw Nami into the room.

Nami stumbled forward from the shove and then turned to face Montaru as she backed up against the far wall. The navigator was trembling so hard she could scarcely stand. Her eyes, betraying her emotions, were filled with fear and hatred. Her gaze was trained on the back of the huge fishman as he locked the heavy wooden door. Nami tried to flatten herself further into the wall hoping that somehow she would be swallowed by the stone itself. 'Well this is just fine. I was so close to just walking out of here. What the hell made me trust that red haired idiot?' As soon as the navigator thought of this an image of Luffy ran through her mind. He was gripping her hand as she sat in the middle of the dusty road. The blood covered knife dropping to the ground and her tears as she finally realized that she needed his help. She gave an inward sigh. 'Oh, that's why.'

The blue skinned shark slowly turned bringing the girl's attention back to him. Montaru, to put it simply, was furious. He walked toward her slowly wanting to continue what he had started the day before and also teach her a lesson for trying to run. He moved without warning and his fist connected with the wall. The stone cracked and crumbled around his hand where just a few moments before Nami's head had been. "You bitch!" He snarled as his cold gray eyes stared down at the navigator's hunched form. She had just been able to dodge his punch by mere centimeters. "What did you think you were doing? Trying to escape?" He asked her in a nasty mocking sort of voice. "You realize that even if you did manage to make it off the island and into the ocean my men would sink your pathetic little boat and then rip you apart."

Montaru grabbed the back of Nami's t-shirt, yanked her upwards and forcefully threw her up against the white stone wall. Nami ground her teeth together biting back a cry of pain as the back of her head hit hard against the surface. Montaru didn't give her time to even get her breath back as his fist was planted firmly in her stomach, making the girl wheeze and gasp, as she coughed up blood. "Where would you go? You don't really believe your pathetic little captain is going to come and rescue a treacherous little bitch like you?" He asked her in a nasty tone.

Despite the pain radiating from her midsection the navigator managed to scowl up at her tormentor as she wiped some blood from her chin. "I'm not a traitor and Luffy will come for me. When he does he'll be sure to kick your ass." Nami knew she was pushing it but talking to Shanks had restored her failed faith in Luffy. The older pirate seemed to have that courageous air about him, though Nami didn't know what it was. Luffy seemed to have it too. That ability to inspire courage from others, courage or stupidity, the girl didn't know which. The navigator braced herself she knew what was coming without having to see the fist headed toward her and then suddenly Nami rolled to the side. Somehow she barely avoided the fishman's deadly attack yet again which only seemed to infuriate Montaru further. Losing her balance Nami fell to the floor with a gasp of pain as she had landed on her broken wrist.

"You're not a traitor? That's a laugh. You have betrayal running through your blood girl. You who betrayed her family and village to work for my brother, who has betrayed countless pirates to steal their treasure, just to turn and betray the one she had sworn allegiance to. How long would it have been till you would turn your back on this so called crew of yours?" Montaru asked her, a mocking smile on his face, as he bent over to grab her. He was stopped short however as Nami aimed a kick at his head. The desperate attack forced him to lean back some. "You worthless human! I'm done playing with you." The shark-man glared fiercely at her and advanced again a half crazed look in his eyes. "It seems you've forgotten that your little wanna-be savior also tried to defy me and he paid the price for his disrespect."

His words cut through Nami's heart like a knife. Suddenly her gaze turned hard as she glared at Montaru. "Don't try to tell me I've forgotten him you bastard! He's dead because you killed him, he was just a kid. He didn't deserve that."

Montaru had a nasty smirk on his face. "Well, if it wasn't for you, maybe he would still be enjoying his life then. Since it was because of you that he came to die." He said as he moved toward the navigator again.

Nami lashed out with her foot again, trying to somehow delay Montaru, more on survival instinct than actually believing it would make him stop. However, her foot was grabbed by the merman before even coming close to hitting him. She tried to shake his hand off but it was in vain. Montaru's strong grip tightened painfully around her right ankle. She tried to pull away from the large shark and in desperation the navigator began to struggle harder against his hold. Before Nami could free herself Montaru sneered maliciously down at her and slowly twisted the foot he held. With a sickening snap her ankle was easily twisted out of its socket.

"Gaaaaa!" Nami screamed as she felt her right ankle slowly being dislocated from its intended place entirely sending agonizing waves of pain shooting up her leg and throughout her body as Montaru finally let go of her. The orange haired navigator instinctively cringed inward trying to give herself some protection from the pain.

"Let's see you run now, you little bitch." The shark glared down at the nearly unconscious navigator as he placed a heavy foot on her already injured mid-section adding an aching amount of pressure there. "Remember girl, I am not my brother, I will not allow you to run around wherever you wish. As I've proven I am not above killing you right now if you get too troublesome." Montaru then removed his foot from Nami's stomach and kicked her hard enough to send her sliding across the floor. He grinned at her painful scream. Then since he was done with her for now he turned to walk out locking the door securely behind him and left the injured girl gasping for breath on the floor.

The two young fishmen guarding the door were left with a few bruises also in payment for letting the navigator escape. As Montaru headed back to the party a satisfied smirk made its way to his lips. He knew Shanks would still be there and he wanted to rub his control over the situation in the pirate lord's face while he still could. Just a few more days then he would kill the girl and string her up as a welcoming present for her captain.

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"Gomu Gomu no Gatling Gun!" Luffy called out stretching his arms forward as he punched out three large mermen that had stepped in front of him. The rubber teen panted hard as he leaned over to catch his breath. When an octopus merman popped up behind him Luffy easily took him out and continued running down the long hallway he was in. It seemed he had been running forever in a never-ending hall with doors that stretched on and on. He was alone, the others had stayed behind to fight off the main force of the fishman pirates, and this gave Luffy a chance to find Nami. Luffy ran past doorway after doorway somehow knowing what he sought wasn't behind any of them. More mermen came at him and he took them all down without any hesitation. The strawhat wearing captain skidded to a stop in front of the last door in the hallway. She was here, he could feel it.

Luffy reached out his hand cautiously to turn the door handle, it opened easily enough, and he stepped inside the pitch black room. Abruptly the door slammed behind him leaving the confused boy totally in the dark. He made a surprised noise at the sudden loss of light. Luffy turned his head this way and that trying to see something in the dark. "Nami, are you here? Say something." The boy called out as he stumbled around in the blackness. Suddenly the lights flickered back on and Luffy's coal black eyes were able to adjust to the bright light then he focused on a figure that was kneeling in front of him.

It was Nami. She was kneeling on the ground and bent over so that her short orange hair shadowed her face. Then he noticed that she was covered in a bright red liquid. Luffy saw the same colored liquid slowly pooling around her knees, to his horror the captain quickly began to realize the red stuff was blood, her blood.

The rubber boy tried desperately to get his body to move but couldn't get his limbs to listen to him. "Nami! What's wrong? Look at me." At the sound of his desperate voice Nami slowly lifted her head to look in his direction. Luffy gasped as his eyes widened. His navigator's face was covered in blood as well and her usually bright brown eyes were now dull and lifeless. "Luffy… you're here?" Nami's voice sounded so small and weak against the loud pounding of his heart.

"Of course, I came to get you Nami." Luffy's voice cracked as he looked down at his bloodied nakama. "How can I find One Piece without you?" The rubber boy's heart clenched as he watched Nami sit there in a pool of her own blood and slowly shake her head.

Her dull brown eyes looked up at him again, seeming to look straight through him, and it sent a chill down his spine. "Why weren't you here? I needed you Luffy." Nami's tears flowed over and mixed with the blood already staining her cheeks. She took a shaky breath as her bloodstained hands closed tightly into fists. "I needed you and you didn't save me."

"No Nami, I will save you, no matter what! I promise!" Luffy called to her. He wanted to help her, to run over there, and take her away from this place. For that matter he wanted to move any part of his body but all his attempts failed. The teen was forced to watch as Montaru suddenly walked up behind Nami who had her head lowered again. He cried out but it seemed that his navigator could no longer hear him. Luffy watched as it happened almost in slow motion. The fishman raised his clawed hand and plunged it into her lower back and then Luffy saw it exit through her front. The precious blood spilling freely around her and he was still unable to move.

Nami threw her head back as a soft choking scream escaped from her lips as blood ran from her mouth and from the gaping hole in her stomach. The orange haired girl slowly lowered her head, her lifeless gaze locked onto Luffy's distressed stare. "Luffy… help me." Those choking words were the last he heard from his nakama and then he found that he could finally move again though he could do nothing except fall to his knees in shock. Tears were running down his face as he felt like his heart was going to shatter. Then his surroundings faded to black.

"Noooooo!" Luffy yelled loudly as he jerked up in his bunk, he was panting and sweating.

Chopper yelped in fright and fell out of his bunk right onto a startled Ussop they both screamed and tumbled to the floor in a heap. Franky shot upright in his bunk knocking his head on the underside of the bunk above him as he cursed and looked around for the trouble. Zoro jumped out of bed his hands already grabbing for his swords. Once he saw that it was only Luffy he took a breath and relaxed when there wasn't anything attacking them. Sanji had been beside Zoro when he jumped out of bed, but seeing the actual problem, he calmly pulled out a cigarette and lit it up.

"What the hell, Luffy?" Zoro growled in an irritated voice as he resheathed his sword. The other guys were all looking at their captain as he sat shaking and sweating in his bunk.

"Sorry about that guys, it was just a bad dream." Luffy apologized. The image of Nami covered in blood still ran across his vision as he stared firmly at his bed sheets.

Ussop sighed in an exaggerated way, his hand to his chest. "Geez, is that all, Luffy you almost gave me a heart attack." The sharpshooter whined as he turned to go back to bed. He had Chopper in his arms like an oversized teddy bear.

Luffy gave an apologetic smile to reassure them he was fine and it seemed to work as they all climbed back into bed. Zoro was loudly grumbling about his interrupted sleep, Sanji smothered out his cigarette and was mainly silent. They all were soon asleep again. The distressed teen however got out of bed and silently made his way out onto the deck letting the cool night breeze blow over him. This calmed his nerves considerably.

Luffy unexpectedly found himself outside the door of the observation room. He had so far avoided this room, except for the times he had to go to the bathroom, and then he had walked through hurriedly with his head lowered. He took a deep breath and opened the door to the observation room slowly. He made his way inside the dark, empty, room and then closed the door behind him. Luffy stood with his back to the door for a minute just looking around and his gaze was drawn to the area of the room where Nami's desk was. A sliver of moonlight illuminated the object in an unearthly patch of light. His face remained expressionless as he stared at it from a distance.

Quietly walking up to her desk, Luffy reached out his hand, and ran his fingertips across the top. He looked down, and on the surface was an unfinished map, one that Nami had never gotten to finish. Also laid out carefully were her pens and ink, almost as if they were waiting for her to use them again. He leaned forward and carefully ran his fingers over the unfinished lines on the paper. His black eyes turned slightly sad as he thought about what that man from the island had told them. He was worried…something he rarely ever did.

Luffy thought back to the last time he had actually worried about something. It had been on Water 7 and his fight with Ussop. He had been unsure if his nakama was going to return to the crew at all. It wasn't as if he didn't have any worries, because he did, although as Captain he tried not to let the crew see it. He especially tried not to sweat the small stuff. It usually worked itself out in the end.

Nami, however, wasn't a small thing. She was his friend and crewmate. Lately though he had been thinking that he wanted her to be something other than those things, he didn't know what that something was, but it was a feeling he couldn't get rid of. He was really worried about his navigator…_His navigator_. He called her that all the time but had only recently been thinking about what those words could mean. It wasn't like he thought she belonged to him, he knew she didn't belong to anybody but herself, but for some time now whenever Sanji or any other guy would flirt with her. Well, Luffy didn't like it, and he had to stop himself from wrapping his arms around Nami and pulling her away. The door made a slight squeak as it opened but Luffy was so distracted by his thoughts that he didn't hear it or the light footfalls of the archeologist as she came up behind him.

"Captain-san?" Robin said walking up behind him. "You seem bothered." She watched as the boy jerked around, startled for a moment, before turning away again.

Luffy kept his gaze turned away as he addressed the older woman. "Yeah you could say that." He paused bringing his eyes around to finally look at the older dark haired woman. "I just don't understand Robin. I know Nami is strong, I know that we will rescue her, but I can't stop wondering if she is really ok. I don't really worry about much, you know that, but now it feels like I can't stop." Luffy fell silent again as images from his dream floated back into his mind.

Robin smiled, she had suspected something like this would eventually happen, and what Luffy seemed to be talking about proved her suspicions correct. She stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on her captain's shoulder. "Captain-san, I don't think you need to worry about Navigator-san, she is stronger than I think even she knows. She will make it through alright. After all she has you to be there for her." Robin smiled seeing that Luffy seemed a little less depressed at her words and turned to leave.

Luffy turned and called out to Robin who was already at the door, "Thanks Robin." She nodded with a smile, disappeared back outside, and left Luffy to his thoughts. After she walked out the smile slipped off his face, he just couldn't get rid of the feeling that things weren't as OK as his crew wanted to believe. Then he turned back to the incomplete map on the desk. 'Hang on a little longer Nami, I'm coming.'

=O=O=O=O=

Alright that's it for chapter 6 and I hope everyone enjoyed it. I know not much action happening on Luffy's part this time but it will start picking up when they hit the island. Which should be next chapter or the following one; we'll see how it goes.

As for Shanks, the old pirate code he follows was inspired by the pirate code from the Pirates of the Caribbean, and it's something he takes very seriously even if it is considered the old laws. He has no problems bending the law, as pirates do but actually full out breaking them, definitely not. Next chapter Shanks will also start to play his major role as he tries to keep his promise.

So it seems Luffy is coming to a realization about Nami, but what about her, does Nami even feel the same. I suppose it's not gonna be a surprise seeing as this is LxN story but will Nami figure out her feelings before Montaru kills her.


	7. On The Edge

GreenCyberWolf: Ok I'm back did you guys miss me? Oh boy last month was totally busy for me. My younger sister got married and what a hassle it was for everyone. The wedding was almost ruined by the idiot preacher who forgot the "I Do's" what kind of preacher forgets that? I'm rambling sorry. Anyway enough of that I'm sure you guys are more than ready for me to start. Are you ready to go Luffy?

Luffy: …(Drool)

GreenCyberWolf: Luffy? Oi Luffy!

Luffy: Huh? Oh, I was thinking about the huge cakes they have at weddings. That reminds me that I'm hungry.

GreenCyberWolf: Well your stomach will have to wait Luffy the readers are ready to go.

Luffy: Yeah! I can't wait to get on that island and beat that bastard.

Disclaimer: (beats lawyers off with a stick) ok ok... One Piece isnt mine, happy now?

"talking"  
'thinking'  
_flashback_

**-  
Nami's Returning Nightmare  
Ch. 7  
On the Edge  
-**

The Strawhat crew left port as soon as they had all the supplies they needed. It had been only about half a day since they had left the island and Luffy sat on Sunny's head and stared out at the sea trying to will the island to come into view. When it didn't he growled impatiently and tapped his fingers on his knee in frustration.

"Luffy, you know that it will take awhile to actually reach this island don't you." Ussop spoke from his spot on the lawn deck. The sharpshooter was making some more ammo for his Kabuto. Luffy didn't seem to hear him though and Ussop shrugged and went back to his work. He was now used to Luffy's unusual silence lately.

Luffy was deep in thought which was a foreign action for the rubber boy. That night in the observation room after his talk with Robin. He had realized there was something different about Nami though he couldn't exactly pinpoint the name of the feeling he got. The navigator kept playing through his mind especially when he was alone. Before this happened he had found himself watching her, the way she looked so excited when she was about to go out and map a new island, or the gleam in her eyes when treasure was mentioned. He had started to notice a lot of little things like that about her lately but he just couldn't figure out why.

The day after leaving the island Zoro was in the crow's nest as usual and was the first to notice the massing of the dark clouds on the horizon. The storm didn't look all that bad and it was pretty far away so he didn't alert the crew right away.

Two hours later he wished he had said something as the crew battled the winds and waves. The storm wasn't as big as the one from a few days ago but it was just as hard to get through. Franky had the helm while Robin tried to navigate through the gale and the rest of the guys did what they could to try and not let the ship sink. Without Nami there the crew had been taken by surprise. No one had expected the storm to hit them so fast or hard. They had an even harder time getting through this one and Robin didn't help matters. The archeologist wasn't used to navigating in a situation like this where one wrong move would send the ship under the waves.

Robin was trying to steady herself with the help of two more of her hands. "We need to turn the ship 65 degrees starboard." She told Franky as she looked at the log pose. The cyborg who was standing next to her nodded and spun the wheel. Even though she was older than most of the crew and knew more about the Grand Line than anyone else on the ship Robin was not used to giving out orders much less screaming them out across the deck. Normally she was very sure of her decisions but this situation had her hesitating and it caused the crew some trouble. Luckily for everyone the winds began to die after about three hours of battering the Thousand Sunny and its crew. The ship hadn't been badly damaged and naturally no one blamed her.

After the storm had passed everyone eagerly waited on dinner to be served, this storm had proven just how much the Strawhat's needed their navigator back. If they were ever going to get through the Grand Line in one piece they needed Nami's navigation skills. Her being their nakama only made them more determined than ever to succeed. Sanji served the food and they all dug in. It was very quite around the table much different than they crew's usual noisy battle over food or some other random thing. No one said much of anything besides the occasional 'pass the salt' and everyone tried to avoid looking at the still empty chair that the fiery orange haired navigator usually occupied. Ever since they were told of Montaru's bloodthirsty cruelty the welfare of their missing crewmate was weighing heavily on all their minds.

Luffy tried to act normal for the sake of the crew but even he couldn't convince himself it was all going to be ok. "Come on guys you shouldn't be so down. Nami's gonna be fine. We'll get her back and everything will go back to normal." The captain tried to smile but it didn't look too convincing. Everyone could easily tell this whole thing was really affecting him.

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Nami slowly slipped back into consciousness and excruciating pain was the first thing that registered in her mind. She groggily opened her eyes to again be faced with the bare stone walls of her prison-like room and couldn't suppress a groan as she tried to lift her head from the mattress. She had to stop the movement when the room started to spin. It had been almost two days since she had run into Shanks and when she had attempted to escape this hell. Like a fool she had been persuaded to stick it out and wait for the red headed pirate to help her escape and now it was too late to do anything.

The light of early evening filtered in through the barred window. Nami blinked dazedly trying to clear her vision. She had been beaten again earlier in the day and now her body couldn't seem to decide between mind-blowing pain or intense numbness. She tried to move her hands but a severe pain shot up and down her arms to remind her that the bastard fish had tied her hands together during the earlier beating to keep her from fighting him.

Nami still tried to sit up but with painful consequences as her head felt like it would split open. She looked around the room as best as she could, blood was still drying on the wall where she had been thrown against it. After the beating she couldn't even gather the energy to drag herself to the bed and had laid on the floor for a long time. After awhile she did manage to stumble to her feet and collapse on the small mattress. Somewhere in the back of her mind she dully wondered how long she had really been here. It seemed like years since she had last laid eyes on her crew or the Thousand Sunny or…Luffy.

The navigator knew she wouldn't last for another beating like the one she had received earlier. She was weak with blood loss and hunger they hadn't given her any food since the loaf of bread on the ship coming here and although she was no doctor she could figure out that loosing so much blood was nearly fatal if not replaced. Despite the incredible pain that it caused Nami managed to turn over so that she wasn't looking at the red splattered room. She was now staring at the blank wall on her other side. The one good thing was that Nami's older injuries had given up on causing her pain. The stab wound to her shoulder was now only a dull ache and her broken wrist just felt numb to everything. She couldn't even feel the thick rope painfully digging into the skin on her right wrist. Of course that isn't saying that her newer injuries didn't hurt because this was possibly the most pain she had been in her whole life.

Not for the first time, or second time, Nami found her thoughts on her crew. More specifically her thoughts were on her captain. 'Where are you Luffy what's taking you so long? I know you wouldn't just abandon me here, right?' Nami clenched her eyes shut as a fresh set of tears started to roll down her cheeks. She didn't have the energy or will to fight them. She shook her head slightly as her frown deepened. "Of course Luffy will come after me I can't doubt him, not now." Nami groaned in pain as the movement made her head hurt worse. "I know I should trust you Luffy. I just don't want another person that I love to be hurt by these bastards." Suddenly Nami's eyes opened wide when she realized what had just come out of her mouth.

"Wait, I love…Luffy?" The navigator asked herself in confusion as she stared at the white stone wall as if that held the answer. Nami flashed back to everything Luffy had done for her. Back in Skypia he fought Enel so fiercely because he had beaten the others and taken her on that flying ship. On Drum Island when he risked his life hiking for who knows how long in the deep snow to get her to a doctor. Especially Nami remembered when Luffy had stood on the ruins of Arlong Park and shouted for the world to hear that she was his nakama. "It's true I can't imagine what my life would be without him in it. I do love him." She smiled to herself just a bit but it quickly turned into a grimace when she moved against the ropes binding her. She laughed quietly through her pain. "Heh, it would take me dying to get myself to admit that I loved that bonehead captain. There's not a lot I can do about it now though and even if he does manage to make it past Montaru I don't know how much longer I can wait for him."

A sudden wave of dizziness washed over the orange haired navigator as an involuntary tremor wracked her body with pain. She went into a coughing fit that ended with her coughing up blood she was sure she couldn't afford to lose. She could feel herself getting even weaker. She barely had the energy to stay awake. 'I'm sure Luffy will find some way. He always seems to in the end.' Nami continued to shake with pain. Her surroundings were quickly fading into nothingness and her last conscious thoughts were of the warm sea breeze as it played with her hair. The sounds of her nakama were close around her and a certain black haired, black eyed, carefree captain that was by her side.

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In the Sunny's dining room Luffy ate quietly, he still stole food, but he did it almost automatically without putting much feeling in it. "Oi Robin, when are we going to reach the island?" Ussop asked the archeologist, being sure to keep an eye on Luffy's roaming hand. The others paused in their eating to listen as well since they were all curious.

The older woman thought back to the map that was safely tucked away in Nami's desk. "At our current rate of speed we should be arriving in a few hours." The men surrounding her nodded a serious atmosphere coming over the table. "Captain-san," Robin turned her attention to Luffy, who was in the process of stealing from Chopper's plate. "I believe we will need a plan before we enter the merman base." Luffy stared at the archeologist with wide blank eyes like the idea never even crossed his mind and being Luffy, it probably hadn't.

"I have to agree with Robin on that point, Strawhat." Franky spoke up from across the table. "We can't just run in there, kick their asses, and rescue Nee-chan without some sorta plan. It would be dangerous for us as well as her." Luffy looked ready to argue the point but was cut off by Robin.

The archeologist sat sipping her cup of tea looking at the rubber teen to make sure he understood. "I suggest we split into teams of two when we arrive on the island. It will be easier to search for Navigator-san and keep track of each other." The black haired woman explained. Franky sat back with his arms folded over his chest as he made a sound of agreement along with Zoro. Luffy just nodded silently in agreement a downcast look coming into his eyes at the mention of Nami. The crew could tell this was really getting to him, mentally as well as physically. The boy quickly finished what was left of his food and silently got up then walked out the door.

Everyone gave a collective sigh. They had better be able to get Nami back safely not only for her sake but Luffy's as well. They were all at a loss as to what to do. They had never seen their captain like this before. After dinner everyone, minus Luffy, sat around the table and discussed Robin's plan until late in the evening.

It was long past dark by the time Luffy shouted from the figure head. "Land-ho! It's the island. I can see the island." The rubber captain was indeed pointing toward the low-lying silhouette of an island. Everyone else was drawn out onto the deck to watch the ship approach to their destination.

Mindful of what the old barkeeper had said Franky steered the ship around the back side of the island so as not to be conspicuous and where there was a large amount of forest. Once everyone got off Sunny and onto the island they split into their already decided pairs. Ussop and Franky would stay and guard the ship against attack and keep it ready to sail in case they needed to make a quick getaway. Robin and Zoro were on search and rescue along with Sanji and Chopper. Each pair would take a section of the base and do a thorough search. Luffy would go alone to hunt down Montaru and do what Luffy does best. The whole crew felt that it was only right he be the one to take down the lead merman.

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It was late into the night when Ben walked up to his captain as the red haired man was sitting on the opposite side of the table from Montaru. Both were drinking heavily but only one of them was getting drunk. Shanks had stashed away this brew for just such an occasion.

"Captain, the ship is ready. We can leave when you're ready." Ben whispered in Shanks's ear so that Montaru couldn't hear.

The captain smiled. 'Finally, I have been waiting to get Nami out of here for two days now.' He looked up to Ben, nodded and the grey haired first mate left, already knowing what Shanks wanted to do. "Well Monty, it seems that my ship is resupplied and awaiting our departure. So there is no more reason for me to annoy you further." He stood up and smiled happily at the fishman across from him.

In his somewhat drunken state Montaru failed to notice that the pirate lord had subtly slipped his sea stone rings off the table and replaced them with normal stone rings from his pocket. Montaru took another drink from his mug and also grinned, happy to be rid of the annoying pirate. "Well if you have to go so soon. Don't let me stop you." The shark laughed loudly almost falling out of his chair.

Shanks didn't waste any more time as he left the room and quickly made his way to a previously chosen spot within the base. Ben was there when he arrived along with Yassop who had no idea what was going on.

"Captain, did you get'em?" Ben asked as Shanks motioned for the two to follow him. The captain didn't answer instead he pulled the ten sea stone rings out of his pocket and rattled them around in his hand.

Yassop just looked on in confusion. He didn't know what those rings were or what they were doing so secretly in Montaru's base. "Hey, what are we doing here Captain? I thought we needed to leave as soon as the ship was ready?"

Shanks looked over his shoulder at the blonde haired man. "We do and we will but we have one more person to pick up though." He left it at that and Yassop didn't ask again. He was willing to wait and see what his captain had up his sleeve.

The group didn't have any trouble making their way through the halls of the base since all the pirates knew not to bother the human and his crew. The problem would come when they arrived at the door to Nami's room, which Ben had discovered the location of earlier, and then getting her out of the base and to the ship without the alarm being raised.

Shanks was slightly worried about Luffy's young crewmate. Knowing that she and Montaru had bad blood between them already and knowing the shark's already hostile nature towards humans must be amplified towards her. He hadn't seen the girl since he had run into her in the hallway, and over the time since then, his worry that he might have to tell Luffy one of his crew was dead had only increased. After a few more turns the three pirates stopped short before rounding the last corner that led to Nami's room, two older mermen stood guard outside the door, and Shanks silently motioned Yassop forward.

Even with not knowing the full situation Yassop could easily figure what Shanks wanted him to do. After taking careful aim the sharpshooter fired two quick shots with his gun and both mermen fell dead to the ground before they knew what hit them. With the guards out of the way the three human pirates calmly walked forward, grabbing the keys on the way, and unlocked the wooden door. Shanks was the first to enter with Ben behind him. Yassop stood at the doorway to cover them.

Ben looked around and was only slightly shocked at seeing the blood splattered on the floor and even some on the walls. Shanks had told him beforehand what Nami had told him about how she knew Montaru and Ben was no fool. He knew what they would find wouldn't be pretty. "This is sure a mess." The first-mate muttered to himself as he looked over at Shanks who had already made his way to a bed in the corner of the room.

Yassop stood in complete astonishment at the scene upon first entering the small plain room. Dried blood was splattered over the floor and some of it even reaching up the walls. His wide eyed gaze shifted to Shanks who didn't even pause to look around before going over to the corner where there was a small bed that someone was laying on. What the blonde pirate saw made even his stomach flip-flop in uneasiness. "Alright, Captain, whose the girl and what the hell are we doin'?" Yassop finally asked not being able to stand not knowing anymore. Both the captain and first-mate seemed to be in together on this.

The red haired man didn't answer his crewmate right away. Shanks's heartbeat involuntarily quickened when he saw the unmoving form. He knelt over to the side of the girl and swiftly looked her over. As he knew would happen it seemed that her wounds were far worse but she was alive. He could tell by the slow and unsteady movement of her chest. She needed medical attention right away if they wanted her to continue to be alive though.

Nami was unconscious and curled up on bloodstained sheets. She was facing away from the door with rope tying her wrists around her back. Shanks figured it was to keep her from fighting back when they beat her and the tightly bound rope looked to be cutting into her wrists leaving the skin beneath raw and bleeding. A quick glance over the rest of her body didn't improve Shanks's outlook. Almost every inch of visible skin on her seemed to be covered in cuts, bruises, and blood.

The red headed captain swiftly pulled out his dagger and cut the ropes around Nami's hands then moved aside to let Ben gently pick her up. Only then did he pay attention to Yassop's question. "I'll give you the full story back on the ship but in short, she is one of Luffy's crew, and was kidnapped by Montaru. Her name is Nami and we're rescuing her." Just then loud alarms started to sound off around the base. The three looked around quickly to see if they had somehow set off some alarm but it wasn't them. Seeing as the

cat was out of the bag and stealth was no longer required the trio of rescuers took off back the way they had come. Shanks was leading the way, Ben carrying Nami and shouting directions at his captain followed in second, and Yassop covered their hurried escape in the rear.

"It looks like our diversion arrived just in time!" Shanks called out as they ran down the twisting hallways heading back to the Red Force and the rest of the crew.

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"All right everyone remember the plan?" Zoro asked as the Strawhat crew huddled just outside the fishman base. They all nodded. Zoro turned to look at Luffy who had been suspiciously silent for the last few minutes then he growled in annoyance. Where Luffy was but a few seconds ago there was now an empty space. Robin pointed in a direction behind Zoro and they all turned to see Luffy running full speed toward the heavy double doors of the main building.

Luffy approached the main entry which was closed up tight as far as he could tell. "Gomu Gomu no Bazooka!" He yelled as both fists went flying into the heavy double doors effectively breaking them to pieces. The young captain then easily ran through, although, he only got a few yards down one hallway when fishmen started to pour out from everywhere wondering what was going on. That was when the alarms started going off signaling that the base was under attack.

"Well I guess this means the plan has started." Robin said as she stood and walked out of hiding as well.

Sanji lit up a new cigarette and motioned for Chopper to hurry up. The little doctor nodded and transformed into his Walking Point since that form had a better sense of smell. "You know you can just go back to the ship Marimo. I can take it from here." Sanji said as he stepped out from behind the bushes.

"What was that Magic Brow?" The swordsman growled as he gripped his katana following Chopper out from hiding.

Sanji just smirked. "I said I can find Nami-san on my own. You'll just wind up getting lost anyway." The blonde laughed quietly at his own joke as he and Chopper headed for an area of the compound with some buildings not connected to the main structure.

Zoro scowled in the cook's direction fully intent on beating him to a pulp when they got back to the ship. Then his attention was drawn to the loud sirens and ruckus taking place at the main entrance. "Leave it to Luffy. He hasn't been in there for five minutes and he already has the place in an uproar." Zoro said as he joined Robin.

"I suggest we find an alternative route inside. Since I'm sure Captain-san will draw most of the fighting to him." Robin said as she also looked over at the entrance.

Zoro grinned and rolled his shoulders. "Let those bastards come. I could use a workout about now."

Robin gave a frown to the already hyped up Zoro. "Swordsman-san we must find…"

"I know. I know. We have to find that witch." Zoro grumbled cutting Robin off. However, the dark haired woman gave a small smile at Zoro's insult, knowing he was just as worried about the navigator as everyone else.

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The crowd of low level goons that surrounded Luffy didn't last long against the enraged Strawhat captain. In fact they were pretty easy to get rid of and he soon found himself in the main gathering hall facing off against none other than the leader of the fishmen. The large blue skinned shark, Montaru.

"Well Strawhat, I didn't think you'd actually come, I was getting excited about killing that orange haired bitch." Montaru scoffed as both captains stared each other down. He showed no outwards appearance of having drunk a heavy amount of strong liquor just a little while beforehand. "I had planned to show you that girl's corpse as a welcoming gift but you had to plan a sneak attack like this in the middle of the night."

Luffy growled at the shark-man across from him. "Oi, you half-fish bastard, where's Nami? You better not have hurt her." He was beyond angry. Just seeing the shark-man again made Luffy shake with fury.

Montaru laughed mockingly at the human boy. "What if I did Strawhat? What if your precious navigator was even now at death's own door?" The laughter only grew crueler at Luffy's wide eyed expression.

Luffy's worry quickly changed to anger as he prepared to attack his much larger opponent. "That's not true! Nami's strong she won't die until she completes her dream. I'll make sure of it." With that exclamation the teen captain charged toward Montaru more than ready to kick his ass. The time for talk was now over.

Montaru grinned, his razor like teeth glinting dangerously in the light. He braced himself and met the younger pirate head on. The shockwave of the attack cracked the ceiling along the length of the hall. The shark-man's grin only widened as they grappled, and pushed against the other, testing each other's strength. "This is going to be entertaining. I haven't been this excited about a fight in years."

"Enjoy it for now 'cause I'm about to kick your ass!" Luffy scowled up at the fishman as their hands stayed locked together. Suddenly Luffy ducked down and using his shoulder sent Montaru flying. The fishman landed hard and had some trouble getting to his feet again courtesy of Shanks and the booze.

"Kick my ass? That's a laugh you little piece of shit." Montaru charged Luffy landing a direct hit to the boy's face and knocking him clear across the hall and crashing through a wall. The shark started to chuckle as the stone wall crumbled around the human pirate. That soon stopped when Luffy appeared from beneath the rubble with a smirk on his face. 'What the hell? I hit him with sea stone he shouldn't be getting up so easily.'

"Was that all? Heh." Luffy laughed as he stepped over chunks of wall. He started to run forward, at the same time stretching his fist back, and then twisting his arm. Once within a few feet of Montaru he let loose and shot his arm forward. "Gomu Gomu no Rifle!"

Montaru was sent tumbling backwards from the hit but amazingly managed to get back on his feet. The merman stumbled as he straightened up. Luffy saw the opening and took it. He crouched down a look of concentration on his face. "I made a mistake last time and didn't take you seriously. Nami had to pay for it, well, that's not gonna happen this time." Luffy's whole body turned red and started steaming as he activated Gear Second.

=O=O=O=O=

Nami has been rescued, just not by Luffy. Speaking of, Luffy has finally arrived to kick some fishman butt. Yes I know ya'll must be thinking about how much I suck for leaving the chapter there. Now that I don't have my sister's wedding to worry about I'll be able to pay more attention to updating.

As for next chapter Zoro and Sanji run into a bit of trouble trying to look for Nami. Luffy continues his fight with the big boss shark and Shanks makes it off the island with the Strawhat's navigator… Wait a minute! If Shanks has Nami then who is there for the crew to rescue? Hehehe, I guess you'll have to wait till next time.


	8. Trouble in the Search

GreenCyberWolf: See I told ya'll I'd be faster =) though don't expect two chapters every month. Exams are over, the weather is warming up, and summer is pretty much here already. So in celebration you get a new chapter.

Luffy: Yosh, let's get started I can't wait to get back into the fight. How much longer till I get Nami back? What about the stuff that happened last chapter?

GreenCyberWolf: Well I can't tell you Luffy that'll ruin the story now. Be patient, we're almost there, just a few more chapters to go till the end. Though I don't know exactly how many I'll end up with. Well anyway let's get this show on the road.

Luffy: Why can't you tell me? I'm the one in the story.

GreenCyberWolf: Luffy…

Disclaimer: One Piece doesn't belong to me so don't sue you won't get anything anyway.

"talk"  
'thought'  
_flashback_

**-  
Nami's Returning Nightmare  
Ch. 8  
Trouble in the Search  
- **

The sky was darkened by heavy cloud cover and the stars and moon were totally obscured. Sanji was thankful for that at least as he and Chopper searched the outlying buildings of the fishman base. Sanji was no sneak but thankfully wherever Luffy was he had pulled most of the fishmen to him so that he and Chopper didn't run into very much opposition.

The two ran into very little trouble for the first couple of minutes of their search. Every now and then though a few of the fishmen would rush past and Sanji would have to grab Chopper and hide. The cook knew full well they couldn't get distracted fighting the grunts while it was their mission to find Nami. The number of fishmen passing by grew less and less as Sanji and Chopper continued their search and the blonde let out a sigh. It seemed that the pirates on this part of the island were now all Luffy's problem.

Chopper was still in Walk point because his sense of smell was a little bit better than in his other forms. He had already sniffed out the first three outer buildings of the compound and found they were just for storage and with no trace of the navigator. There were only two left then he and Sanji would head inside the main building and start searching there.

"Wherever Luffy is he must be making a real ruckus to bring all these fishman to the scene." Sanji said quietly to Chopper as the two pirates rounded a corner. The cook was suddenly surprised by a trio of younger fish pirates who looked no older than himself. The fishmen screeched to a halt obviously surprised as well. There were two stingray fishmen and an octopus fishman of different sizes and colors. Sanji only paused for a second in surprise before he attacked. The blonde threw a kick at one of the stingray's face landing squarely on the jaw knocking the fishman out cold as he landed a few yards away.

"Now, that's just rude." The other stingray said with a scowl as he looked over his shoulder at his fallen comrade and stepped up to take a swing at the cook. This was a big mistake as Sanji didn't feel much like playing around at the moment.

"A fish can't go up against a cook." Sanji told the young pirate as he dropped to the floor and swung at the merman's leg with his own. The fishman fell to the ground as his leg was kicked out from under him.

Chopper in his Heavy point jumped on the fishman's back as soon as he stood up again. He wrapped his arms around the fishman's neck and refused to release his hold. The merman was about the same size as Chopper was though so the young reindeer was struggling. The stingray type merman suddenly grabbed Chopper's arm and tossed him over his shoulder and into the ground. At the same time Sanji gave the merman a tremendous kick to the gut that sent him flying into a nearby wall.

"That ought to teach even a fish a lesson." Sanji said with a smirk as the stone wall crumbled around the downed merman. Then he turned to the third and final opponent. This was the last of the group. An octopus fishman, he seemed to be somewhat different from the others. He gave off a strong aura as he approached Sanji. Chopper, who had switched back to Walk Point, could sense his strength and the deer squeaked backing further away.

"A fish can't go against a cook, eh? Well, I'll have to see about that. You can call me Koturo otherwise known as the guy whose gonna pound you right here." With that the octo-man lunged at the blonde cook swiping a webbed hand toward Sanji's head. He ended up embedding his fist into the wall past Sanji when the cook was able to dodge.

The Strawhat's chef jumped to the left, landed on his heels, and turned swiftly to face his opponent again. His knees were bent ready to move. 'Shit, this guy is going to be trouble. I can't get distracted fighting this bastard. I have to find my Nami-swan.'

Koturo slowly stood, blew the dirt of his knuckles, and looked over at the dented wall. It took him two blinks to realize what he did. "Oh crap! I broke the wall! Man, the captain's not gonna like that!"

Sanji growled in annoyance at the delay of the fight. "It's just a wall. You're in a battle, so something's going to break, you moron."

"You shitty human!" Koturo yelled glaring daggers at Sanji. "I meant to hit you!" He swung his fist again which successfully landed square in Sanji's gut. The force of the punch sent the cook flying back and he landed a few feet away rolling a few times in the dirt.

"You call that a hit?" Sanji gasped as he shakily stood on his feet. This was getting frustrating with the nowhere direction of this conversation and he decided this fishman had a few screws loose.

"You should just give it up and let me kill you then you wouldn't have to worry about that little human bitch because you'd be dead." Koturo stated with a scowl coming across his face.

The cook scoffed at that statement. "As if I'd let you kill me before I rescued Nami-swan!" Sanji glared at the merman. "I'm getting tired of this." Sanji huffed as he ran toward Koturo at full speed. When the cook was about four feet away from the fishman he did a cartwheel like move and stood onto his hands. "Côtelette!" He called out as he turned his body with his right leg stretched out ready to make contact against his opponent. Sticking out his heel the cook struck Koturo hard against the chest. Sanji felt something crack inside his opponent's torso and the larger creature flew back and he landed with a thud on the ground. He was no longer moving.

Sanji bent over trying to catch his breath as Chopper cheered from his place on the sidelines at seeing the last of the fishmen being dealt with. The doctor quickly ran over to Sanji's side to check for injuries before picking up the search again.

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"Oni Giri!" Zoro cut down another opponent as he and Robin fought off yet another group of fishmen. The swordsman sighed in disappointment as he sheathed his two swords, he didn't even need to use all three for these weak pirates. Robin finished off the last of the group with a loud crack as she broke the backs of four fishmen and stepped over the sliced up and broken bodies to reach the irritated man on the other side of the hallway.

"I see your finished as well Swordsman-san so shall we continue?" Robin asked calmly and Zoro nodded stiffly. He looked disappointed that the fight wasn't more of a challenge.

They continued down the corridor using Robin's ability to look into rooms for the missing navigator. The pair hadn't been back at the search for longer than five minutes when the wall directly beside the archeologist began to crack and with a loud explosion outward a huge greenish merman burst through the crumbling stone. He slammed into the surprised Zoro and Robin sending them all through the wall and into the opposite room. As the dust cleared Zoro was quick to regain his senses and looked around. Dust hung in the air making the area hazy. After looking around some he found Robin unconscious amidst the rubble of the two walls. The swordsman unsheathed his three swords instinctively knowing this was a situation that called for serious force.

A section of debris began to shift and Zoro turned to face the much larger stingray fishman who emerged from the dust. The pirate was holding onto what looked like a North Blue style* sword. 'That's an interesting weapon to be found in the hands of a merman.' Zoro couldn't help but think as he got into a defensive stance and he waited to see what the fishman's next move was.

There was a tension filled silence between the two. The air in the room was thick and heated as the two swordsmen faced each other in a stare down. "Well, you must be _the_ Roronoa Zoro of the Strawhat pirates, allow me to introduce myself. I am Kinn, master swordsman of the North Blue style." Zoro could tell from his tone that the merman was arrogant and overconfident. "From what I've heard you must be here for that little human girl the boss captured."

His three swords ready to go, Zoro watched his opponent sharply waiting for the first attack to come. "I don't know who you are and to be perfectly honest I don't give a crap but I want to know where that woman is. So tell me now and maybe I won't kill you." The green haired swordsman said with a deep scowl.

The merman smirked at Zoro's impatience. "I don't think you'll want to find her after what our captain did. I've heard it isn't a pretty sight. In fact from what I hear she's all but dead already."

Kinn started to chuckle at his own words. This only served to fuel Zoro's anger. In less than a second he had jumped over the rubble separating them and held a blade inches away from the throat of the arrogant pirate. The fishman's smirk never faltered as his laughter increased in volume. Zoro's sword had been stopped by the fishman's own. "I do love a good fight!"

Then Zoro felt pressure being applied to his blade, the merman's lone sword was not only able to withstand a direct attack, but surprisingly it was able to fight off Zoro's sword. The green haired swordsman began to sweat at the tremendous pressure against him. His boot started to slide across the floor at that point and Zoro fell over the edge of part of the destroyed wall to land on his back. The merman then started to laugh at the fallen human.

Zoro watched him for almost three seconds letting him enjoy his laughter while he could before placing both his hands over his own shoulders and he pushed himself up to kick Kinn in the face with both feet. After he made contact the swordsman did a flip and returned to his earlier battle stance. He watched the merman stumble backward with a hand to his nose forcing him to drop his sword. The sight made Zoro start to chuckle to himself. "Physical pain is irrelevant. My captain is depending on us to find our crewmate and I will not let him down." Zoro said as he once more started to attack his enemy, quicker this time, he was able to cut across Kinn's chest without any chance of him fighting back.

The merman staggered away from his close range position and Zoro smirked darkly he knew that the battle had only just started. Taking a few slow steps back Zoro watched as Kinn regained his standing position with a new look of animosity shown clearly on his face. The merman suddenly could be heard whispering the name of an unknown move, "Shaffuru." Then he disappeared into thin air.

Looking very surprised Zoro took an unsure step forward. He wasn't sure of the direction of the next attack but he did know he needed to keep on his toes. Suddenly a short blade appeared and stabbed him in the side. The short sword slid deeper into his flesh. Gritting his teeth against the shank of his prized sword Zoro did all he could not to make a sound. He wouldn't give the fishman the satisfaction.

Getting frustrated and angry that Zoro was still on his feet Kinn reappeared and charged with his sword held above his head and straight toward the Strawhat's first mate.

"Ougi Sanzen Sekai!" (Three Thousand Worlds) The green haired swordsman called while holding both of his swords at parallel angles he dashed at the fishman while spinning his two blades. The deadly swords disappeared in a blur.

Once again Kinn disappeared in a flash and appeared on the other side of Zoro. It took the green haired swordsman a few moments of surprise to notice his enemy's new placement. Tossing a glare in the direction of the pirate Zoro turned and met the chilling stare of dark eyes. The merman yawned loudly. "Well, this is very disappointing I figured you'd be more of a challenge, being Roronoa..."

Zoro suddenly cut him off. "The battle's just started!" The swordsman removed the short sword from his left side. The loss of blood from his wounds was making his eyesight go slightly blurry.

"I know but you're last move was just so weak." Kinn looked down in a disappointed fashion and sighed sadly. "I really expected a better fight from you."

"Shut up already and fight!" Zoro was obviously annoyed with the merman for trying to distract him from the fight with useless talking. "Stop trying to dodge and run away from my attacks you bastard." Zoro's patience was at its limit as he suddenly attacked. "_Ushi Bari!"_(Bull Charge) Turning to Kinn swiftly on his heel and running at full speed. He slashed at the fishman and didn't slow in his attack. In all fairness, Kinn was very able with his sword, and managed to block some of Zoro's strikes. Though on average every third swipe made contact but after just a few critical hits the fishman had enough and moved in to attack the human in return. Sensing someone moving behind him, Zoro twisted and slashed backwards. The blade sliced into Kinn along the side of his thick neck. Zoro whether on purpose or accident had hit a vital artery in the fishman's throat and the green haired man watched in an odd sense of satisfaction as Kinn lay in a puddle of his own blood.

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Shanks was leading Ben and Yassop through the twisting corridors of the base knowing that with whatever was going on they would stand less of a chance of being noticed by Montaru's crew. After a few more twists and turns it seemed as if the red haired pirate had found his way onto a mini-battlefield. Dust and debris filled the corridor and the noise of a fierce fight sounded close-by. Shanks motioned Yassop and Ben to move forward quietly and he followed them. They carefully picked their way through the rubble. It looked like someone had crashed through one wall and into the other. Shanks caught up to his waiting men and continued down the hallway none of them noticing the green haired man step through the destroyed wall and stare in their direction curiously.

Zoro had noticed another presence nearby as he stood over the dead merman. After picking up the still unconscious Robin he walked back through the destroyed wall and into the hallway. The swordsman looked to his side where he saw some more humans. Some distance away he saw a group of three human men running down the far end of the corridor. Zoro scoffed as he stared after them. 'Whatever, it's not my concern.' He was about to write off the group and turn in the opposite direction but when the three strangers rounded the corner at the far end of the hall there was a familiar flash of color. Zoro looked hard at the group again and nearly dropped Robin in shock. That was definitely their navigator's orange hair. He would know that mop of orange anywhere. "Damn that troublesome woman, don't tell me she's being kidnapped again?" He stared after the group and looked at the guy who held the unconscious navigator in his arms. He was tall and grey haired with a scar on his face. The others in the group were a man with red hair and a tan blonde man.

To say that the green haired swordsman was surprised and just a little irritated would be an understatement. Finally Zoro pulled himself out of his stunned daze. He was past annoyed at this point. "Get back here with her, you bastards!" He yelled after them. It did no good because the other group had already rounded the corner as was out of earshot. The swordsman readjusted the unconscious woman in his arms and wasted no more time as he took off after the people who now had their navigator. "This witch is too much trouble. First she's kidnapped by these fish bastards and now she's taken by some random weirdo. She's lucky I still owe her and that I always pay my debts or I'd leave her ass here." Zoro huffed as he continued to grumble and curse to himself while trying to catch up to the group who now had Nami. His wounds hurt like hell but he tried to ignore the pain and concentrate only on catching the other men.

A few hallways ahead Shanks, Ben, and Yassop didn't realize they were being pursued. They hurried through the twisting corridors of the base towards the docks where the Red Force and the rest of their crew was waiting. Unfortunately the group couldn't move at full speed mostly because it would seem that Nami, who was in Ben's arms, was getting worse. "How is she doing Ben?" Shanks asked without looking back.

"Not so good Captain. I think she might actually be worse than when we picked her up. She's still losing blood and this rough movement can't be good for her injuries. Her breathing is shallow and it looks like she's struggling." The silver haired first mate answered glancing down at the battered girl that looked like she was barely able to hold on.

"We can't afford to slow down. We're almost outside but until then we can't stop." Shanks yelled back to his two crewmates. The red haired man wondered, not for the first time, if they had indeed arrived in time to save her after all.

Running through the halls the group ran past many beaten and bloody mermen and parts of the structure that were destroyed. This normally wouldn't be a problem except that the hall leading to the exit was now blocked off. "Shit!" Shanks cursed as he tried to find a way around the collapsed part of the corridor.

Zoro followed as best as he could but the three men had too much of a head start and he was soon lost in the twisting halls of the base. "Damn now what do I do?" Zoro was decidedly confused as to what direction he should take. Suddenly the archeologist in his arms stirred and opened her eyes.

"I am able to walk on my own now, Swordsman-san." Robin suddenly spoke up making Zoro jerk his head down in surprise to see her looking up at him. "What has happened? Why are we here?" She asked as Zoro set her on her feet again. The green haired swordsman sighed in frustration and gave the older woman a quick rundown of what had occurred while she was out.

The blue eyed archeologist thought for a few moments after the explanation and frowned. "If these men are planning to make a getaway they will need to have a ship. While we were outside I happened to see a ship near the docks that did not look like one of the fishmen's."

Zoro just gaped at her. "Why didn't you say that before? We could have saved a hell of a lot of trouble."

"No one asked." Robin told him with a small smile.

The swordsman nearly face palmed if not for the fact that Robin had already started running toward the exit, where she was certain that the other men were headed as well. It wasn't long before Robin had led them back outside and Zoro, though he wouldn't admit it, was relieved to be out of the maze like corridors. Without stopping the pair of pirates ran down to where Robin noted the ship was before.

"Where is it?" Zoro asked as they got closer to the docks. He frowned seeing only the large black ship the fishmen were on when they attacked the Thousand Sunny. Turning to Robin he frowned when she looked concerned.

Robin turned her gaze to the sea and her frown deepened. "There. We are too late." She was pointing to a large red ship with what looked like a dragon figurehead that was heading out of the small bay.

Zoro cursed as he watched the ship exit the bay where the docks were. The swordsman growled in anger and frustration then turned to Robin. "Damn, that stupid woman is too much trouble. Come on we have to go after them." Zoro turned around and started to run back towards the main building.

Robin made a note that the stranger's ship looked to be sailing around the back of the island then followed after the green haired swordsman. "I believe I can find the others and alert them, swordsman-san."

Zoro nodded in agreement and stopped allowing Robin to use her abilities. The archeologist closed her eyes and concentrated making eyes appear throughout the rooms and hallways of the base. After a minuet she opened her eyes again, and smiled obviously successful. "I have found both Cook-san and Captain-san.

The swordsman's patience was almost to the end as he crossed his arms and looked at Robin expectantly. "Well?"

It looks like Cook-san and Doctor-kun have already entered the main building and are not too far from us while Captain-san is in the middle of a fight with the large merman who led the attack on our ship."

"Alright you go after the shit cook. I'll handle getting Luffy." Zoro told her and she nodded in understanding. Robin then headed in the opposite direction while Zoro almost instantly got off track of Robin's instructions.

=O=O=O=O=

*Note- English broad sword*

Alright this chapter is done =) Hope ya'll enjoyed it. Don't know when I'll be able to put the next chapter up but it shouldn't take another month. So I'll see ya'll soon.

Look forward to the next chapter which is the rest of Luffy's fight with Montaru. The crew then sets off after their navigator once again. What happens when the Strawhats catch up to the Red Haired pirates and they try to take Nami back without knowing Shanks and crew are actually friends?


	9. Playing Catch Up

GreenCyberWolf: Yea! We are in the final stretch with this story, only a couple more chapters to go. I'm totally excited but yet sad at the same time.

Luffy: Why are you sad for (sticks finger up nose) you have a whole journal full of stories you get to work on after this one.

GreenCyberWolf: Well that's true. It usually gives me something to do in class. Hehe

Luffy: Alright let's start already I want to know how my fight turns out.

GreenCyberWolf: Ok ok calm down Luffy.

Disclaimer: My name is not Oda therefore I don't own One Piece. I have like two bucks to my name so even if you sue you won't get anything anyway.

"talking"  
'thinking'  
_flashback_

**-  
Nami's Returning Nightmare  
Ch . 9  
Playing Catch Up  
**-

The swordsman hurried through the halls trying to follow Robin's directions but unknown to him the archeologist had told him the wrong way to go as part of a theory she had. The archeologist knew it was risky giving the wrong directions to Zoro but honestly he couldn't have done any worse by himself. Luckily for everyone her theory panned out and surprisingly Zoro found Luffy relatively easily. The green haired man wound up in what looked like the main gathering room which seemed like it had seen better days. There were large craters scattered around the whole length of the room, the pool in the center seemed to have lost most of its water somehow, and pieces of the ceiling and walls were crumbling around the remaining two occupants.

"Oi Luffy!" Zoro called out upon walking into the half destroyed room and immediately got the fighter's attention.

Seeming to forget that he was in a life and death fight Luffy turned his full attention to the first mate. "Hey Zoro, where's Nami? Did you find her? Is she back on the ship?" Luffy grinned with a relieved look in his eyes. 'Good Zoro's here that must mean they have Nami back. Now I just have to finish this guy.' Or so the rubber teen thought.

The boy's hopeful questions made Zoro even angrier with himself for failing his captain. "I'm sorry Luffy, we found her, but another bunch of pirates took off with her. They had too much of a head start and I couldn't catch them." Zoro told him, waiting for the boy's outburst. It didn't come instead when the swordsman looked up at the younger pirate he found the coal black eyes boring holes directly into the merman.

Montaru himself seemed to be in shock at this news, after her escape attempt he had made sure she wouldn't be able to even try anything again. Then like a brick to the head one man popped into his mind's eye, "That lying shit-faced bastard!" The two humans in the room jerked in surprise at the sudden loud outburst from the enraged fishman. Montaru paid no attention to them. "I let him stay on my island, eat my food, and drink my liquor. How am I repaid? He goes and steals that girl." The shark-man slowly seemed to calm down a little as he glared over at Luffy and Zoro. "Oh well, at least I know she's all but dead anyway even if I don't have the pleasure of killing her myself. All you're chasing is a corpse boy."

Luffy ground his teeth in anger, his whole body trembling from the effort to stay calm and rational. "Nami is not dead you bastard! She's a Strawhat pirate. She won't die!"

"Luffy we have to hurry, we can still catch their ship, but we have to get back to the Sunny with everyone else."Zoro called out as his captain again prepared for battle, he saw Luffy give a slight nod. The swordsman leaned against one of the remaining walls far from the battle zone. Luffy didn't seem to want his help.

"Gomu Gomu no Gattling Gun!" Luffy started things off once again throwing rapid punches at the large fishman who was able to block most of them. Luffy wasn't bothered by this and didn't even pause as he kicked up his leg and tried to kick Montaru in the ribs, but like before the shark was able to dodge the blow. Luffy stumbled, only slightly, but it was enough time for Monatru to go on the attack.

Montaru gave a loud yell as he raced at the rubber boy and was able to catch him under the chin with an uppercut sending Luffy flying back from the force of the hit. The shark continued after him pounding down on Luffy's chest with both hands and with such power that the stone underneath the Strawhat captain cracked. Luffy bounced slightly off the marble, breath lost and a stinging pain in his chest. Even his rubber body couldn't stop some pain from coming through the hits.

The younger captain stood up again wincing slightly as he placed a hand to his heaving chest. Luffy was exhausted and blood splattered. The rubber captain knew that if they had any chance to save Nami he couldn't afford to waste time here. Luffy quickly got his breath back and shot out a Gomu Gomu no Pistol, it hit its target pounding into the fishman's stomach. Luffy twirled around his opponent so that his foot hooked around one of his legs, kicking the back of Montaru's other knee with his foot so that the shark-man would lose his balance and fall forward. The large shark-man tumbled to the ground surprisingly easy landing with a loud thump on the stone floor.

Montaru let out a loud yell of fury and irritation as he picked himself up. 'I don't understand it, he should be getting weaker. Why doesn't the sea-stone affect him?' Then as if in answer to his unspoken question the stone rings around Montaru's fingers cracked and broke apart. The fishman gaped down at the broken stone in shock then with the image of Shanks flashing into his mind Montaru let out an infuriated shout that shook the already weak foundations of the room.

Luffy had backed off a few feet at the loud outburst and the shark made his way back over to the throne like seat which surprisingly was still intact. Montaru grasped the handle of a large weird looking sword that was leaning against the chair and held it up with ease as he snarled glaring heatedly at the human boy. "I've had enough of this game. I'm going to finish this now." Montaru scowled as he readied his attack.

"You're right this will end now. I have to save my navigator and I wasted enough time on you." Luffy growled with a dark glare sent to the fishman. He could feel that he was getting weaker this fight had taken a lot out of him and there was a loud ringing in his ears. Even with his injuries he was ready when the much larger pirate ran at him with the heavy blade. However, Luffy quickly learned that the weapon was to be avoided as it swung down at him at an alarming speed. Luffy dodged but not fast enough to avoid it completely. It cut open the front of his red vest just nicking the skin. "Ah! That thing's really dangerous!" He cried as he landed a few feet away from the range of the sword.

Montaru laughed nastily. "Of course it's dangerous, boy! What do you think this is?" He scoffed loudly, swinging the large saw-like blade back into a ready position. "You're going to die." The battle continued on with the black haired boy jumping here and there to avoid being sliced open by the menacing weapon.

Luffy wasn't that lucky however as the sharp blade cut into his skin over and over though he did manage to avoid the more serious hits. His red vest was basically shredded cloth by this point and stained with his blood that oozed from the more serious wounds he had received. Eventually, finding that the loose material got in his way, Luffy removed the vest. Letting the tatters drop to the ground and revealing all the raw gashes and cuts on his rubber body.

"It's time to end this pathetic fight." Montaru roared as he swung the large blade down at the blood caked human boy.

Luffy braced himself against the destroyed marble floor and rolled to the right barely avoiding the sharp blade. The sword implanted itself deep into the marble floor almost to the hilt leaving Montaru wide open. Zoro was watching everything from his spot against the wall and he smiled at his captain's move. "Luffy we have to move it if you want to go after those guys." He saw Luffy look in his direction only momentarily then back to the fight.

Luffy turned and glared at the large merman with a dark look in his eyes. "You're right. It is time to end this. You're gonna pay for what you did to my navigator!" The enraged Luffy finally let out all his anger, grief, frustration, rage, and anything else he may have bottled up over the last two weeks and grabbing the handle of the imbedded sword he snapped it like one would a stick. That left most of the blade still stuck inside the floor. Luffy bent forward as steam began to rise from his body and his skin turned red. "Gear Second." Luffy muttered and then disappeared in a flash. Not waiting for Montaru to try and counter-strike the black haired teen reeled back his fist as far as the space would allow, twisting it the whole way back, and then shot it forward. "Gomu Gomu no Jet Rifle!" His fist struck right on target pounding Montaru between the eyes with a satisfyingly loud crunch sound that could be heard from the shark's skull. It was a second or two before the merman's slate colored eyes finally rolled into the back of his head and he dropped to the ground in a heap.

The victorious captain panted hard, black spots dancing before his eyes as he stumbled away from his downed opponent. He was in a rather bad condition even Zoro could see that as the first mate walked over to him. Luffy's body was littered with cuts and gashes, he was caked with blood, and Zoro could only imagine what Chopper's reaction was going to be.

The straw hat wearing boy smiled as toothily as he could in his condition and only when Zoro was closer did Luffy finally collapse. He was caught by his trusty first mate before hitting the floor. Luffy tried to stay conscious the only thought on his mind was getting to Nami but he could feel himself slipping into the darkness. "Z…Zoro," Luffy's voice wavered slightly as he struggled to speak to the green haired swordsman. "We have to go after Nami. I have to… to save her…no matter what." Then his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he finally fell unconscious.

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The swordsman sighed in exasperation again as he hauled Luffy's body out of the fishmen's base and toward the Thousand Sunny. When he walked out the destroyed double doors of the entrance to the main building Zoro heard Chopper's voice calling from behind him. The swordsman turned around to see the little reindeer jumping up and down excitedly and waving to get his attention.

"Zoro, the Sunny is in this direction." Chopper said as Zoro walked up to him. "Robin knew you'd go the wrong way so she told me to wait here for you." The ship's doctor then noticed Luffy slung over the swordsman's shoulder. "Ah! Luffy, help we need a doctor!" Chopper started running in panicky circles. "Oh wait that's right I'm the doctor." The young reindeer said with an embarrassed blush after he was done panicking.

"You can look at him on the ship Chopper we don't have the time now." The green haired man looked down at his younger crewmate and the reindeer squeaked and nodded.

Chopper turned and started to head into the forest. "Come on Zoro we have to hurry and get Luffy to the ship." He was sure to keep an eye out in case his companion started to wander away but it didn't take very long for the two of them plus the unconscious captain to make it back to the Thousand Sunny.

"Oi, there you guys are, I was about to get my 8,000 followers to go out and search for you." Ussop stated posing on the railing of the ship. "After all, the great captain Ussop never leaves his crew behind." Zoro walked past the posing figure completely ignoring him while Chopper had gone starry eyed at Ussop's exclamation.

Franky came up to the swordsman as he was making his way to the infirmary to dump the rubber boy to be treated by Chopper but Zoro was stopped by the blue haired shipwright. "Hey Zoro we saw that ship. Cook-bro over there said it was the one that has Nee-chan on it. It sailed past just awhile ago it was going at a pretty fast speed too. Are we going to try and follow it?" Zoro nodded and turned to the crew assembled on deck suddenly finding himself in charge.

"Luffy's order was to get that woman back no matter the cost." Zoro told the remaining crew said captain was still over his shoulder. Sanji was fuming in the background because the Marimo had referred to his 'sweet Nami-swan' like that. The swordsman pointedly ignored the chef. "We're gonna catch up to those bastards and get her back but if they see us coming after them it might become even more difficult." Zoro told them.

"In other words you are suggesting a sneak attack. Putting out the ship's lights and sneaking in behind them. We cannot reveal ourselves till we are ready to attack." Robin explained picking up on Zoro's plan immediately.

Zoro's eye twitched, "So what are you still standing here for? Get to work already and go after those bastards. Come on Chopper." Zoro turned back around as the others started to move and headed for the infirmary at the back of the ship. The doctor followed Zoro to the infirmary where he started to patch Luffy up and the Strawhat crew set off after their feisty orange haired crewmate once again. The course for the ship was set and luckily it was already set to sail so the Sunny was out to sea in no time.

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It was just after dawn and the inky blackness of night had faded away to the brilliant early morning colors of pinks and blues. However the spectacular display of beauty was lost on the stone faced first mate of the Strawhats as he stared ahead at the other ship sailing on the horizon. Even after sailing at full speed for most of the night they still hadn't been able to catch up with the other ship. Now with the loss of darkness to cover themselves with there was no chance to sneak up on them unseen. The only thing Zoro could figure now was to use the Coup de Burst.

"Franky get ready to use that blaster of yours." Zoro called over to the older blue haired man who was standing at the helm. The shipwright looked at the swordsman in confusion before figuring out what he was talking about and saluted enthusiastically.

"Yosh, you got it, one Coup De Burst coming up." The blue haired cyborg reached over to the intercom and alerted the rest of the crew so that they could prepare themselves and activated the Coup De Burst sending the ship flying forward out of the water and into the air. This way the Sunny easily caught up to the other pirate ship. With a huge splash the Sunny came crashing down in the water just a few feet from the side of the stranger's ship so that they were now both side by side. The Strawhat crew, minus Luffy, since he was still knocked out in the sickbay had gathered on deck.

The crew finally got a good look at the ship they had been pursuing all night, the ship itself was unremarkable. It had a dragon shaped figurehead and wasn't much larger than Sunny but the Jolly Roger on top of the mast drew everyone's attention. It was of a skull with a single diagonal red stripe across the eye and two crossed swords replaced the bones.

"That flag…" Robin gasped.

Sanji and Zoro whipped around to look over at the archeologist. "Do you know these pirates Robin-chwan?" Sanji asked looking back over at the other ship quickly.

"Yes. This is one of the four Emperors of the Sea, the Red Haired Pirates." Robin looked to Zoro waiting for his decision on what to do.

Zoro stared grimly up at the flag. He was not looking forward to taking on one of those guys with one crewmember missing and their captain unconscious. "Alright Chopper, Robin, once we board you split up and search for Nami the rest of us will hold off the rest of their crew." Zoro unsheathed two of his swords and jumped over to the opposite pirate ship.

"Wait for me my wonderful Nami-swan! Your knight in shining armor has come to rescue you!" Sanji's visible eye turned into a heart and he had a dreamy look on his face as he boarded the enemy ship directly after the swordsman. The chef was closely followed by the rest of the crew. Once on board none of the Strawhats were surprised to find themselves immediately surrounded by ferocious looking pirates.

Shanks was standing at the back of his crew. Ben Beckham was standing next to him while the red haired captain was grinning like a madman at the Strawhat flag. "Let's see just how strong Luffy's crew really is, shall we." Shanks asked his first mate. Beckham just grinned back at his captain and silently made his way to the front of the group of men.

"What do you small time pirates want here?" Ben asked, playing his part in this façade. "Do you know whose ship you've just invaded?"

Zoro smirked staring the grey haired man in the eye, two of his swords already drawn ready for action. "Yeah we know exactly who you guys are but we're here to take back our crewmate. Not even one of these so called Emperors is going to stop us." Then the green haired swordsman clamped onto his third sword with his mouth obviously done talking.

Ben matched the green haired swordsman glare for glare as the two first-mates stared each other down. "Have it your way then." Ben pulled out his own sword and motioned for the pirates behind him to attack.

Sanji and Zoro both rushed forward at the same time to meet the oncoming wave of pirates and between the two of them easily created a gap in the crowd of attacking pirates. "Chopper, Robin, go now! You know what to do." Zoro called to the young doctor and the archeologist as he jumped forward locking swords with Ben. Robin nodded silently and slipped through the gap heading for the deeper parts of the ship, the hold and the brig.

"A…are you… sure you want…me?" Chopper stuttered nervously but one look from the swordsman sent the young doctor scurrying through the hole in the fighting and beneath the deck. It was his job to search the crew's quarters. Once below deck and away from the fighting Chopper switched to his Walk point. No one had followed him which he was grateful for. "Whew that was close." Chopper muttered, "It's a good thing no one noticed me slip through." Without any trouble Chopper made it to the crew's bunk rooms. He could still hear the fierce fighting going on above him on deck as he made his way down the long corridor. Using his sensitive nose Chopper swiftly went from door to door trying to find Nami's scent. "I have to hurry the others are counting on me."

After a few minutes the reindeer's blue nose twitched at a familiar smell, one that never accompanied good news, it was the strong smell of blood. Chopper skidded to a halt just outside a large heavyset wooden door. The scent was strongest behind this door. "Nami's here, this scent is definitely hers." Chopper transformed into Heavy point as he tried the door and found it unlocked. He cautiously swung the door open and stepped into the room. At a first glance Chopper guessed this was the captain's room, at least it looked like what a captain's room should be, with rich colors and expensive looking furniture placed around.

There was a large four-poster bed set over near the window and it was there Chopper found his attention drawn. Unconscious and wrapped in numerous bandages was the Strawhat's navigator. With Chopper's trained eye he could easily tell that Nami's condition was not good but he didn't have time to dwell on this or anything else for that matter as a bullet whizzed past his head barely missing him.

A darkly tanned man with blonde hair sat in a chair near Nami's side he held a smoking gun in his hand. Chopper was forced to turn his full attention to the stranger. The man wore a simple pair of brown pants and a blue vest, his headband was the same color blue as his vest, and he had the name Yassop printed clearly on the band.

The young reindeer briefly wondered if he had any connection to Ussop since they had similar names but his train of thought was interrupted by another bullet that the young reindeer was barely able to dodge. 'AHHH! This guy is shooting at me I have to get out of here!' Chopper began to panic and turned to dive back outside the doors but stopped himself. 'No, I can't. Nami needs help and I'm a strong pirate too.'

Yassop's eyes widened and he leaped out of his chair as he was forced to back away from Chopper's wild lunge. 'What the hell is this thing?' The blonde pirate asked himself as he heard a loud crash from above him. 'And, what is going on up there?' The gunman was finally able to put some distance between him and the enraged doctor as they danced around the large room. The blonde was only able to cock back the hammers of his guns for another shot before he found Chopper's huge hands around his throat and was lifted off his feet which caused him to drop his firearms and grab onto the large furry arm.

Chopper was beyond angry. Nami's weak and labored breathing seemed to ring in his head. His nakama was suffering and this pirate was keeping him from helping her. The young doctor tightened his hold on the blonde man and gave him his best glare. "What did you do to Nami? Why did you take her from those mermen?"

"Wait… Nami… you know her?" Yassop managed to ask between puffs of breath. He sounded surprised and he felt himself be lowered just slightly as a confused look passed over the furry face of the one cutting off his airway.

=O=O=O=O=

This is the end of Chapter 9 hope ya'll enjoyed it and please review. See ya next chapter.

Next time Luffy wakes up to find his crew and Shanks's crew in the middle of a fight. Nami is finally back where she belongs but will it be too late for her. Will she be able to pull through for her nakama and Luffy?


	10. Rescue Operation Now Complete

GreenCyberWolf: Well here we are, the 10th chapter down and only one to go. Thanks to everyone who reviewed for the last chapter. I'm so looking forward to the 4th of July it's only a day away but still I cant wait to see the fireworks I hope it doesnt get rained out. Happy Birthday America! I just couldnt help but throw that out there. So anyway Luffy I know you can't wait to start this and finally find Nami again. Right?

Luffy: You bet. Shishishi, I'm so excited to see Nami and I meet Shanks again too after all this time.

GreenCyberWolf: Well dont get too excited about Shanks though Luffy because your meeting with him will be overshadowed by something kinda depressing. You wont exactly feel like your happy-go-lucky self by the end of this.

Luffy: (usual puzzled look) What do you mean by that?

GreenCyberWolf: Well lets just say that the usual upbeat feeling you always seem to have will be majorly out of place in this setting. The good news is that you get to find out a startling truth about yourself (with help from Shanks) and all you need to do is figure out how to act on it.

Luffy: (Still puzzled look)...

Disclaimer: Dont own. Never have and never will.

"talk"  
'thought'

-  
**Nami's Returning Nightmare**  
**Ch. 10  
Rescue Operation Now Complete  
-**

The fighting had spread out on the Red Force's deck. Zoro was having some trouble holding off Ben Beckham near the center of the deck and Ussop had taken cover beside the railing closest to the Thousand Sunny just in case a retreat was called. Sanji was surrounded by a lot of the lower ranked pirates but what they lacked in power the group made up for in numbers. Franky and Robin, who had come back after using her ability to more quickly scan the hold area, also had their hands full with a large number of pirates that were led by Lucky Rouex and a rookie on the crew called Rockstar. Meanwhile below deck Chopper had his own fight to worry about.

The reindeer doctor felt very confused about what the human man had said but he still angrily gripped tightly onto the gunman's throat. There was something in the way the blonde man spoke that told Chopper he could trust him however he still refused to let the man go. He did loosen his hold slightly that allowed the blonde man to breath easier. "Nami is my nakama, I can tell she's in bad shape, and I want to know what you did to her."

Yassop wheezed and coughed when Chopper's hands slowly slackened their hold around his throat. "We found her like this, the captain wanted to bring her along with us. He didn't tell us why though. If you're part of her crew then we're not enemies." Yassop tried to assure the strange creature that looked like he could easily break his neck. "I swear to you, we were trying to help her." The man hoped he had convinced him because he was quickly running out of air.

The young reindeer paused for a moment contemplating on whether or not to believe the man. Then Chopper slowly lowered Yassop to the ground and released him but stayed on guard just in case. "Ok just don't try anything." The reindeer said as he cautiously backed away keeping his eyes on the man who had doubled over trying to get his breath back. Chopper walked over to the side of Nami's bed turning slightly to begin examining the girl while keeping one eye on the other person in the room.

The blonde pirate gasped for air as he bent over to retrieve his guns. The action made Chopper tense up but Yassop simply holstered them and reclaimed his former seat by the orange haired girl's bed. The blonde lazily tilted his chair back so that it rested on the back two legs and smiled at his furry opponent. "Ya know you're a pretty good fighter, it's not just anybody that can unarm me like that." Yassop told him.

Chopper's head shot up and a blush appeared on his cheeks. "Oh you really think so, hehe, that won't make me happy you jerk." Chopper scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, and grinned back to the older pirate. Yassop just laughed at the way Chopper tried and failed to hide his happiness. The reindeer then transformed back to Brain point which made the blonde gunman's mouth hang open in shock. Then Chopper turned back to Nami all laughter gone from his eyes as he looked down at his nakama. Suddenly a thought crossed his mind. "If we're friends then shouldn't we tell them that?" Chopper gestured to the ceiling indicating both crews who could be heard still fighting on deck.

With a lazy shrug Yassop looked up to the ceiling as well, "Nah, they'll figure it out for themselves eventually, besides my captain told me to stay here and watch over the girl. You know make sure nothin' happens to her. By the way the names Yassop and if you don't mind me askin' what crew do you come from? To attack us they must be some crazy sons of…" The blonde man was cut off as a loud crashing boom that seemed to rock the ship sounded above them and after that it was suddenly quiet.

Looking around nervously Chopper saw that Yassop seemed unaffected by the loud noise and the following silence so he calmed down a bit. He knew Zoro and the others could handle themselves. "My name's Chopper, we're part of the Strawhat pirates." The doctor said absentmindedly with his full attention on Nami. At this the blonde jumped up from his chair once again making Chopper nervously look toward him.

"You're part of Luffy's crew? Well that explains why the captain seemed so intent on getting the girl out of there." Yassop laughed at the bewildered look on Chopper's face. "In that case, you don't have to worry about your friends, neither my crew or captain is gonna hurt'em." The reindeer just looked more confused.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

On deck everyone mixed up in the fray all stopped their fights to gape at the walking disaster that was the captain of the Strawhat pirates. Luffy pulled himself out of the wreckage of several crates that had been sitting on the deck. After he had used his abilities to rocket from Sunny to the larger ship and crash land in the middle of the fighting the rubber boy seemed completely unfazed as he stood up and looked around.

Luffy stared at the scene that met him upon boarding the other ship. Most of his crew were in the middle of what looked like a pretty tough fight with a slightly familiar looking group of pirates. Shaking off the feeling of déjà vu Luffy turned around to find Zoro. "Hey, looks like you started the fun without me, shishishi."

Zoro smirked back at his captain. "Glad to see you're up Luffy. Now the party can really get started."

Before another move was made however a red haired man stepped out of the crowd that was assembled on deck. "Oi, Luffy, long time no see." Shanks called out to his young friend as he raised a hand in greeting.

The teen captain was shocked to say the least as he stared at his old hero that had suddenly appeared and then Luffy looked again at the pirates around him picking out now familiar faces. A huge grin came onto his face and the boy laughed loudly as he bounded over next to the older pirate captain. "Shanks, hey, what are you doing here? This is great. I can't believe you're here." The huge smile turned into a puzzled expression as Luffy looked around once more just realizing his crew and Shanks's crew had been fighting each other.

"Well I…" Shanks began to explain but he was cut off by Robin as the dark haired archeologist walked up to Luffy. She sent a suspicious glance in Shanks's direction.

"It would seem this man has Navigator-san somewhere on his ship, Doctor-kun is currently trying to find her." Robin turned a disapproving frown onto the red haired pirate, and Shanks grinned nervously.

"Well ya know the way you say it, it sounds like a bad thing." Shanks said to her with a chuckle. The red haired man scratched the back of his head with a lopsided smile.

Luffy frowned then and turned from Robin to Shanks. "Nami's here? Shanks you're the one that took her?"

Shanks nodded becoming serious as he knew he would have to be the one to tell Luffy about his crewmate. "To make a long and complicated story short and simple, I happen to run into her back in Montaru's base, and she told me that she was your nakama. So, I decided to help her out." The older pirate explained. "As for the fight with your crew here I hope you'll forgive the little misdirection about that." He said facing Zoro and the others. "I was curious about how strong your crew really was and I didn't want them to hold back on our account."

Luffy laughed at that, "You don't gotta worry about those guys holding anything back. They always fight to win."

Zoro sheathed his swords. "You got that right captain." The rest of the Strawhats relaxed as well knowing they weren't going to be attacked again.

"Hey Luffy you never told us you knew an Emperor of the Sea." Ussop said coming over to stand beside the rubber boy.

Shrugging Luffy continued to laugh. "You guys never asked me." Ussop nearly fell over at that.

It was Robin who got everybody's attention back on track. "Captain-san, we should find out where they have Navigator-san." She said to Luffy and even though she spoke quietly her voice caught the group's notice immediately.

Luffy's smile only got bigger as he thought about seeing Nami once again. He turned to Shanks waiting for him to point the way. "Yeah, I can't wait to see Nami again, shishishi." The teen almost bounced in excitement.

The red haired man nodded seriously a frown appearing on his face. "Alright then, your nakama is down below. She was badly hurt so I put her in my cabin so she could be comfortable, follow me." Shanks started out leading the group to the crew's quarters but it wasn't long before Luffy was running ahead of everyone, even though he had no idea where he was going. The rest of the Strawhat crew smiled at seeing their captain back to his usual happy self.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Chopper was leaning over the injured girl on the bed checking the basic stuff that he could with the few medical supplies he had brought with him. A worried frown crossed his face, he needed to get Nami back to Sunny but he didn't want to bring her up where the fighting was going on even if these pirates were friends. The battle above them had gone quite a few minutes ago but did that mean the Strawhats knew that they were friends now or was it all a lie and his crewmates were in trouble. There was no change in the way Yassop sat back just watching him and nothing else had happened to suggest trouble but all the same Chopper jumped when the large wooden door swung open and a strange red haired man walked in. The little doctor was nervous as the stranger moved into the room but then saw Luffy and the rest of his crew walk in also. The young doctor jumped off the chair he had been using and ran to Luffy worriedly, always the doctor. "You're not supposed to be up yet Luffy. You were injured by that merman before you'll just aggravate your wounds."

Luffy didn't seem to hear Chopper though, as soon as he walked in the door his eyes scanned the room searching for his navigator. Passing over an old painting that hung on the wall and more treasure items than even Nami could dream about his gaze finally landed on the bed focusing solely on the battered and bruised girl lying there. The smile that had grown with each step toward Shanks's room seemed to disappear faster than it had come. 'W…what happened? Shanks said she was hurt but…' Luffy tried to wrap his mind around what he was seeing but he was failing miserably at it. A dark shadow passed over Luffy's face. He had killed the fishman much too quickly.

The Strawhat captain wasn't the only one who was shocked by this turn of events. Franky was at the back of the group sniffling and trying to hide his tears behind his huge arms, though he wasn't fooling anyone. He was mumbling something about "Poor Nee-san." No one could really understand though because the words were muffled by the fact that his large arms were covering his face.

Ussop also looked like he would start crying as well, brave warrior of the sea or not, the long nosed boy couldn't help it as he quickly tried to wipe some stray tears away. Had they taken too long to get to her? Once again he was reminded of how weak he was and not just him but Nami too. They were the only normal ones on the ship, no devil fruit, no monsterous strength, it was just themselves. He and Nami had a silent understanding between them, that they would always have each other's back. He hadn't been there for her when he was needed and that hurt more than anything.

Robin was staring down at her little sister figure sorrowfully it was possibly the most expressive any of the crew had seen her since the whole Enies Lobby thing. Her clear blue eyes were glazed over with tears but she didn't allow them to fall. 'No…not her. How could this have happened?' Since when did the Strawhats fail so miserably in their goals? Robin took in the stark white bandages that covered the many injuries the navigator had, those that could be seen anyway. What had happened to the overpowering luck of D? How could the spunkiest member of the crew lay there so lifelessly?

Both Sanji and Zoro had a hard expression on their faces as they looked down at their crewmate. Zoro's body was tensed up so that only a little tremor could be seen as he fought the anger rising in him. Sanji didn't fare any better as he angrily chewed on the end of his long spent cigarette and wished that he could have had a shot at the shitty merman responsible.

Chopper just watched his crewmate's expressions with a sad look on his face, he was possibly the only one who knew how bad the situation really was, and he was the one who would have to tell everyone. 'How am I supposed to do this? It was always Doctor or Doctorine that gave out the bad news to their patients.' The young reindeer looked up at Luffy for some kind of courage or reassurance but he didn't find it.

The Strawhat captain ignored everyone else in the room as he slowly moved past Shanks and Chopper to stand beside the bed. He never took his eyes off his orange haired navigator. Seemingly in a daze the rubber boy reached out a shaking hand to gently grab onto her bandaged one. Finally breaking the silence that had surrounded the group since entering the cabin Luffy spoke up. "Chopper, she's gonna be ok right? You can fix her cant you?" He didn't seem to care that his voice cracked with every other word spoken and he didn't hide the desperately hopeful tone in his voice. He had faith that the little doctor could fix anything after all it was Chopper who had saved her back on Drum Island when Nami was so sick.

Chopper couldn't lie to his captain, even if he wanted to. Even if he wished with all his heart to tell them all that Nami would be up and beating them all senseless in no time. As a professional doctor and their friend they deserved the truth, he would not lie about his patients. However he couldn't stop the tears that were beginning to leak out of his big brown eyes as he fought to regain some control. "I don't know Luffy. I only brought some basic supplies with me so I can't tell the full extent of her injuries." Chopper looked back down at the unconscious girl not willing to look into the black haired boy's saddened gaze. "I do know that her injuries are severe, possibly fatal, I need to get her back to the ship so I can start treating her."

Shanks nodded in understanding and turned to the younger captain. "I'm sorry we couldn't take better care of your nakama, Luffy. We only have an amateur doctor on board, seeing as we've never needed anything other than that." The teen didn't reply but Shanks didn't really expect him to. The red haired man then turned to Chopper. "We don't have much in the way of medical supplies but you are welcome to anything we do have."

The small doctor nodded his thanks, no longer shy or nervous now that they were talking about what he was best at. "Actually, I need to speak with the guy who treated Nami before I do anything else to her. I'll need to find out exactly what he did." Shanks nodded to Yassop and the blonde pirate quickly walked out of the room. He silently passed by his obviously distressed son on the way, now was not the time for a family reunion. Chopper, meanwhile, had slipped into full professional mode. "Robin, could you go ahead of us and prepare the infirmary. We'll follow right behind you." He asked the older woman. The archeologist simply nodded and hurried out of the room without a word still not trusting herself to speak. The small reindeer then transformed into Heavy point, which gave Shanks a surprise, and walked over to Luffy who had yet to release Nami's hand. "Luffy, we need to move Nami to the infirmary, you have to let go." Chopper told his captain softly.

Instead of moving away like he was told, Luffy slowly bent over and pulled the covers away. Underneath the blanket Nami had on a long white shirt that revealed even more bandages wrapped around her wounds. Wherever the bandages stopped the bruises would begin. The purple, yellow, and blue coloration all stood out darkly against the clean white that attempted to cover them. Luffy was shaking slightly as he tenderly picked up the injured girl, one hand under her legs, and the other supporting her back. The crew didn't know if it was from grief or anger but no one stood in his way as he walked out the door with Chopper trailing close behind nervously biting his lower lip. Shanks followed Luffy's crewmates out of his cabin and onto the deck. With one look from their captain the Red Haired pirates that were still crowded outside quickly scattered leaving Luffy and the others a clear path to the Thousand Sunny.

Luffy carried Nami to where Chopper's infirmary was and as directed by the young doctor he gently laid her on the bed. Even then the young captain wouldn't let her go. "Luffy you have to leave I can't work on Nami if you're in here." The reindeer doctor said trying to reason with his captain.

"Captain-san perhaps you should wait outside with the others. Navigator-san will be safe with us and Doctor-san is right." Robin said rather calmly considering the situation. Finally at the insistence of Chopper and the reassurances from Robin the black haired teen reluctantly allowed himself to be pushed out the door. As he walked out of the infirmary a young man with long brown hair hurried past him. Probably around his mid-twenties and his hair pulled back in a low pony tail Luffy figured him to be the medic from Shanks's ship. The Strawhat captain rejoined his crew on deck plus Shanks, Lucky, Ben, and Yassop. They all settled down on the grassy surface, it was going to be a long wait.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

An hour after the wait had begun Shanks noticed that Luffy had seated himself on the figurehead of the ship. The older pirate made his way up to the sunflower, or was it a lion, Shanks couldn't tell but that wasn't the point anyway. He made himself comfortable leaning against the railing next to his young friend. "Oi, Luffy…" The boy didn't seem to hear him. He just kept staring out into the distant sea. On closer inspection Shanks noticed that Luffy was clenching and unclenching his fist in a kind of worried rhythm, so hard that his knuckles were turning white with each tightening of his hand.

"Shanks, why does this hurt so much?" Luffy finally asked his old hero, his voice was so quite that Shanks had to lean forward a bit to be able to hear it. The younger boy turned his head to look down in Shanks's direction. The uncertainty and concern clearly evident in his dark eyes.

The red haired pirate sighed softly. "Luffy surely you have figured out by now that this isn't a game out here. You must know the feeling of one of your nakama being injured by now." Shanks glanced up curiously at the younger pirate.

Luffy looked down at the water splashing against the hull of the ship as it cut through the ocean. "I know Shanks but this feels different than those other times. We've been in dangerous situations before and I've never felt this way about one of my crew getting hurt. I mean, I don't like it and I don't want it to happen but this time what I feel is worse than those other times." Shanks arched an eyebrow waiting for the boy to continue. "It feels like, I don't know, like my heart hurts every time I think of her lying in the bed like that. When I think about what they must have done to her I…" Luffy cut off and Shanks looked up to see the teen digging his nails into his palms with such force that he was drawing blood and even from his spot at the rails Shanks could hear Luffy's teeth grinding against each other in anger.

Shanks nodded and let a small knowing grin appear on his face as he looked over at the boy. Luffy slid down from the lion's head to sit on the rail by the older captain. "Ah yes, I happen to know that feeling well. I'll tell you now Luffy if you want to get rid of this feeling, it won't happen. If you continue this dangerous life you better get used to it because she won't ever be completely out of danger." Shanks paused as he saw Luffy's confused expression causing the older man to laugh quietly. 'It would figure that he has no idea of his own feelings for the girl.' Shanks decided to bring up the subject carefully it wouldn't do to confuse the boy any more than he was. "Listen Luffy let me ask you, who do you get this feeling around?"

"Nami." Luffy answered without any hesitation.

"Why do think that you feel this way about only her?" Shanks asked trying to lead Luffy to his own conclusions.

"I don't know." Luffy shrugged keeping his answers nice and short. The rubber captain kept his gaze on the ground wondering what Shanks was trying to get at here.

The red haired pirate sighed at the naïve boy and decided he would have to be blunter. "Ok Luffy, this feeling you have, does your heart seem to speed up when she's around?" Luffy nodded. "Whenever she smiles or laughs do you feel really happy on the inside, like nothing could be better?" Again Luffy nodded. "Is there anyone else that makes you feel like that?" This time Luffy stopped to think for a minute before slowly shaking his head.

"No, it's only Nami, Shanks why is it only her?" Luffy was undoubtedly perplexed now. 'Nami is my friend and crewmate but why do I feel like I want her to be more than that? What more is there? I've always had this weird feeling around her, what does it mean though?' His thoughts were interrupted by Shanks's quite laughter.

"Well Luffy, what you are feeling is very natural. It's a special feeling between two people that have a very close connection." Shanks placed a hand on the teen's shoulder. "In short Luffy, you love her, and you have to tell her before it becomes something you regret." Shanks told the younger pirate finally taking pity on his friend and spelling it out for him.

The rubber boy nodded, slowly beginning to understand. "I've got to tell her my feelings but what if…" Luffy couldn't bring himself to finish that thought as he looked up at the red haired pirate only to find him across the deck talking to Ben and Zoro. "…what if she doesn't feel the same way? I could ruin our friendship and I don't want to do that." Luffy slid down the rails as he thought over his problem and his eyes absentmindedly searched out his crew. Zoro was talking quietly to Ben and Shanks while Yassop had finally approached his son and they both seemed to be getting along. Ussop was less animated than usual but this was understandable considering the circumstances surrounding the father-son reunion. Sanji meanwhile had been talking to Lucky Rouex, most likely about the lunch menu, and Franky was at the helm keeping the Thousand Sunny on course next to the Red Force.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

After a tense three hours of waiting the crew had for the most part settled into a silent atmosphere. There was worry even on the most stone faced crewmember even though Zoro would deny it afterwards. It had never taken Chopper so long to patch up any member of the crew before and three hours of worrying and thinking that the worst could happen had taken its toll on the crew's morale.

Finally the infirmary door swung open and Chopper stepped outside, still in Heavy point, followed by Robin and the young brown haired medic from Shanks's crew. They all looked very worn out. The three of them were almost immediately surrounded by their anxious crewmates though the expressions on the three faces instantly dispersed any ideas of good news. The young brown haired man stood behind Chopper and Robin letting them handle their own crewmate's questions. Zoro was the only one who didn't show concern for asking about Nami's well being finding it pointless since he was sure Chopper was going to tell them anyway without prompting but mainly because he didn't want the others to tell that witch he was actually worried for her.

"Hey Chopper, is she gonna be ok?"

"Is Nee-san gonna make it?"

"How bad are her injuries, Chopper?"

"When can I see my Nami-Swan?"

Chopper transformed back to Brain point and covered his ears as he was bombarded with questions from all sides then he yelled out. "If you all don't be quiet I won't tell you guys anything! Nami needs rest and she can't get it if you're all shouting at me." That got the crew to stop talking immediately. The little reindeer took a deep breath and continued in his most professional voice. "As you guys could see before Nami was severely injured, she's still in a critical condition but for now I've got her stabilized. Her injuries were extensive she needed over a hundred stitches and is covered with smaller lacerations and contusions." Most of the crew gave the young doctor a confused look and seeing this Chopper simplified. "I mean Nami's still in danger but for right now she's going to be ok and she has a lot of cuts and bruises."

The crew gave a collective "Oh" and Chopper continued really needing some rest after three hours of surgery. "Nami has several broken ribs, three to be exact, and two bruised ribs also. Her right wrist is broken and had started to heal already, we had to re-break it so that I could set it properly otherwise it would have been even worse. Her left ankle had been dislocated and she also has two hairline fractures to her skull. Not to mention that she's dehydrated and has lost a lot of blood. She's also showing signs of slight malnourishment." Chopper clarified before any of the crew could ask. "Meaning they probably didn't give her any food or water."

The young doctor tried his hardest to sound as professional as he could and not break down into tears though the glassy look in his eyes from the unshed tears gave him away easily. He never had to deal with this aspect of the job before and Nami was his nakama also he really had no idea how to break this news to the crew. With each word he said Chopper could see his friends become angrier and more disheartened.

Robin could see that Chopper was barely able to hold himself together so she continued for him as she placed a comforting hand on the top of his hat. "Navigator-san is very weak at the moment. She has been through a lot and her body needs all the rest it can get. If Doctor-san agrees I don't think it would be a good idea for any visitors to disturb her for today. We've done all we can do, now it's up to her to pull through on her own." Surprisingly the usually calm and collected archeologist was extremely upset as she had to wipe away a stray tear from the corner of her eye. The barriers she had constructed around her heart years ago in order to protect herself had crumbled in her short time with Luffy and the others and now she was left open to experience the pain of seeing a good friend and crewmate be injured.

=O=O=O=O=

Yea, it is the successful ending of yet another chapter and wouldn't ya know it this happens to be the second to last chapter of the story. Just one more and it's over. I can't believe it's that time already. Anyway review please and I'll see ya for the conclusion of NRN next time.

In the last chapter will Nami be able to come back from her injuries or will she succumb to the darkness? Luffy now knows about this weird feeling he has been getting around Nami lately. The question is what will he do about it and could it come too late?


	11. Recovery

GreenCyberWolf: This is the last chapter of Nami's Returning Nightmare. I want to thank everyone who stayed with me through this entire journey and I'd also like to thank you guys for all your reviews. I hope you enjoy the last part of the story, this is where everything gets wrapped in a nice little package, and tied up with a bow. Now as I promised Luffy I have a surprise for you.

Luffy: (bouncing excitedly) ooh…ooh…ooh, that's right. What is it? What is it?

Nami: Luffy stop bouncing everywhere, it's annoying. (smacks Luffy on the head)

Luffy: Ow Nami, what'd you do that for? Hey wait you're the surprise? Shishishi, that's awesome.

Nami: Yeah I'm here and we have a story to finish. I don't mean to cut this short but I'm tired of being unconscious. Besides I know how the story ends, if you're good I might just tell you.

Luffy: Really you'll tell me Nami?

Nami: (kisses Luffy on the cheek) If you behave.

GreenCyberWolf: (watches as Luffy's mind fries trying to understand what just happened) Ok seeing as Luffy is out of commission and Nami ran off let's get this chapter started.

Disclaimer: One Piece belongs to the great Oda-sama. Not to me.

"talking"  
'thinking'

-  
**Nami's Returning Nightmare**  
**Ch. 11  
Recovery  
-**

The Thousand Sunny, the strong and dependable ship of the Strawhat pirates felt as the sun shone down brightly on his wooden decks. The lion head ever smiling as he faced the horizon and the next great adventure that this crazy crew would encounter. He had been built to replace the former ship of the Strawhats but that didn't bother him in the least. Sunny could feel that the people he carried loved and cared for him just as much as they had his predecessor. So because of the love of his crew he always tried the best he could for them. Every member considered him just as much a part of their makeshift family as one of the humans. Every battle he fought and managed to sail away from was because of these people. He was so in tune with his crew to the point where he knew the mood and feeling of each of the pirates that sailed him on this sea and now he could feel that something was seriously wrong.

This closeness he felt to the crew was the reason why he sensed that it was wrong for him to be smiling or for the water to be so warm as it splashed against his hull. On this day he could practically feel the heavy weight of his crew's sadness wash over his rails. Trying to make sense of what was going on the Thousand Sunny focused on each of his crew members in turn. He could feel by the energy of each of the people on deck that something was definately not right on board.

Focusing his energy even more he counted off the crew to himself. They were all aboard this time, the navigator's presence had been missing for quite some time now, and it was her disappearance that the Thousand Sunny attributed to the crew's recently somber feeling. With her return the now depressing mood puzzled the great ship. That is until Sunny focused on the pirate's life force, which being a ship, he could feel easily.

The captain's aura was wavering slightly but was still strong. It was as if something was attacking his spirit little by little though. So if it wasn't him then who? Looking into it a bit more the large ship suddenly centered in on the weak shimmer of an aura. In the short time of his service to this crew never had he seen one of their auras's so diminished. The Thousand Sunny now understood the pirate's mood and if he had been permitted to move a deep frown would no doubt grace his features. The navigator's life force flashed unsteadily, it would flare up a bit and then die down to almost disappear completely. The dim light continued to flicker like that of a flame about to go out as Sunny could do nothing but sail on and leave things for his crew to deal with.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

During lunch the afternoon following Nami's return to the Strawhats the feeling around the table was considerably lighter than it had been when the orange haired girl was missing but no one quite felt in a celebratory mood either. The day so far had been bright and cheery with the sun shining brightly down on the pair of ships traveling swiftly through the ocean. It was sickening that the day seemed so perfect when one of their nakama was struggling just to stay alive.

The day before when Chopper had told them of the extent of Nami's injuries Zoro had walked up to Luffy who had yet to move from in front of the infirmary door and rested his hand on the captain's shoulder. The swordsman was never good with words but he had known Luffy would understand the reassuring action. After a moment Zoro moved on towards the crow's nest leaving the younger pirate alone with his thoughts. Luffy walked the few feet to sit next to the infirmary door wanting to be near in case something would happen. There was nothing that could be done at that point but wait.

Even though Chopper feared his crew would be their usual troublemaking selves and asked Robin to keep them quiet while he cleaned up from the surgery, there had been no need. Everyone remained rather subdued during lunch all the way through dinner, especially Luffy who had even refused to come eat lunch at the dining room table opting to remain at the infirmary door.

"There hasn't been any change since yesterday." Chopper said as he came in late to lunch and he found many eyes looking questioningly at him. It had been just over a full day since getting Nami back and the young doctor was trying to be optimistic. "She isn't getting any worse though and she made it through the night, so that's good. It means she has a much better chance of pulling through." He said with a weak smile.

Luffy ate slowly, or well, slowly for him anyway. His thoughts were on the still unconscious girl in the infirmary. His treasured straw hat was mysteriously missing and the crew couldn't help but notice how different the boy looked with the hat that was usually stuck to his head gone. He looked older and more serious though it could just be the worry over Nami still present in his eyes.

It was Ussop who finally brought up the missing object after all it was very unusual to see the captain without it. "Oi Luffy, where's your hat? I never thought you'd leave it lying around like that." Luffy finally looked up from his plate to his long-nosed friend before silently shrugging and then turning his attention back to eating but not before a slight blush appeared on his cheeks and ignoring the curious stares from his crewmates.

"It's safe." Was the only response Luffy provided and the captain continued to eat unaware of the even more curious stares he got.

Chopper was puzzled by Luffy's answer. 'Why doesn't Luffy tell them that he left it with Nami? Is it supposed to be a secret?' The young pirate nodded to himself figuring that had to be it. He went back to eating his lunch before Luffy decided to help himself to everyone else's food. After they all finished with the meal the young reindeer got the crew's attention again. "I think that it would be ok if Nami has visitors today." He waited for the loud cheers from the crew to die down before continuing. "However, she is still in serious condition and sleeping. So you can't be loud." Here he looked pointedly at Luffy, Sanji, and Zoro. "Nami's still really weak and needs to rest, your visit needs to be short, I'm only giving you guys a few minutes."

Looking much happier Luffy quickly shoveled the rest of the leftover food into his mouth and was the first to dash out the door. He was quickly followed by everyone else. The rubber captain was about to burst through the infirmary door heedless of Chopper's instructions but he was abruptly stopped. Zoro had grabbed hold of the back of the younger boy's red vest to make him wait for the others but even Zoro was having a bit of trouble holding his captain back.

Chopper entered the room first closely followed by Luffy, Zoro, Sanji, Robin, Ussop, and then Franky came last. Of course the crew had seen Nami just the day before and knew the extent of her injuries, but at the sight of their fiery tempered navigator covered in bandages, the fact that they had almost lost one of their own really hit home in the hearts of the crew. It seemed impossible that the girl who was usually so strong willed and lively was now wrapped up and covered in a mix of blue and purple colored bruises.

She lay so still Ussop had to double check to assure himself that her chest was still rising and falling as it should be. Zoro had a hold of his katana and gripped it tightly in order to keep himself calm as he leaned against the wall next to Franky whose expression was hidden behind his sunglasses. Sanji stood at the foot of Nami's bed as he nervously wrung his hands since Chopper wouldn't let him smoke in the infirmary. Robin stood calmly beside Chopper who had taken a seat at his desk and they both watched their nakama sadly. Luffy sat in the chair beside Nami's bedside and gently grabbed onto her hand refusing to let it go. Seeing Nami like this reminded the crew who had been around at the time of when Nami was sick, she had nearly died in that situation as well. No one missed the fact that Luffy's straw hat was settled nicely on the bedside table next to Nami nor the way he held the navigator's hand with his attention focused on her. After a short visit and a few quiet 'get wells' the group started to file out one by one, like they had promised Chopper.

The captain was the last one in the room as Chopper looked at him expectantly. "Hey Chopper, do ya think I could stay here for awhile?" Luffy asked softly. Luffy never looked away from the orange haired girl even as the little doctor looked at him in surprise.

Chopper could only look back at the older boy, Luffy hardly asked for anything much less asked quietly. Even so Chopper looked ready to deny the request but Robin's gentle hand on his hat made him stop. She gave a small smile and nodded to him. "Alright Luffy but not too long, ok." Luffy gave a slight nod of aknowlegment as Chopper and Robin walked out.

The two parted ways when they came out of the infirmary and Robin headed to the library while Chopper noticed that Shanks was leaning against the mast on the lawn deck. He could pick up on Zoro and Ben's voices coming from the back of the ship talking about the finer points of swordsmanship. He saw the meat loving Lucky walk into the kitchen where he could hear Sanji cleaning up from lunch. Ussop was across the deck talking to Yassop from the exaggerated movements the younger pirate was telling another tall-tale. He assumed Franky was working down in his workshop. After a moment's hesitation the little reindeer followed Lucky into the kitchen hoping to get an after lunch snack from the chef.

Luffy sat next to Nami, still holding onto her wrapped up right hand. He slowly took in her battered appearance memorizing her every bruise and gash. With each new injury committed to memory the boy felt a deep stab of pain in his own heart. His coal black eyes filled up with tears that he refused to let fall. He never wanted to see her like this again but what Shanks said yesterday still echoed in his mind. 'As long as you live this dangerous life she'll never be completely safe.' Luffy frowned deeply, it didn't matter, he would always protect Nami from now on. No matter what. "Nami, can you hear me?" Silence is all that answered him although he didn't really expect an answer. "You have to hurry up and get better, everyone's been really worried about you, even Zoro but he won't admit it out loud." Luffy tried to steady his shaking voice. "I'm not worried though, I know you're strong, I know you'll wake up real soon. Besides, I miss having you around. Even when you yell at me and… well not you hitting me 'cause that hurts… but I just miss you. I also want you to meet Shanks. He's the guy that saved you. I don't know if I ever told you but me and Shanks are old buddies. He saved my life too back in my village, I know you would like him Nami." A small grin appeared on Luffy's face as he gently squeezed Nami's hand being careful not to hurt her injured hand.

The boy brought his free hand up and softly brushed orange bangs away from her face. Luffy's voice went even softer as he continued his talk with Nami. "I'm glad we were able to find you. No other navigator can take your place, I won't allow it. You're the only one who can navigate this ship." Luffy took a deep breath feeling his heart beating against his chest. "This feels weird but like in a good way. I've never felt like this with anyone before. Shanks said it was love and he's usually right about stuff." Luffy turned his eyes to the side blushing even though Nami wasn't awake to see it. "I don't really know how this is supposed to work but I have a feeling that I should tell you." Letting his hands move on their own Luffy slowly moved his fingers from Nami's hair to trace over her pale lips. Almost as if in a daze his head lowered until his lips took the place of his fingers in a quick tender kiss. He wasn't sure what he expected. Maybe that Nami would suddenly wake up like in the fairy tales Makino used to read to him or maybe she would be able to kiss him back. As he pulled away there wasn't anything like that. She didn't kiss him and she didn't wake up. When Luffy straightened up again she looked just like she did before and his heart dropped.

Suddenly the infirmary door opened and Chopper walked inside unknowingly breaking the moment. "Luffy, I have to change Nami's bandages now so you'll have to leave."

Luffy knew his time was up so he squeezed Nami's hand gently. "I have to go now Nami but don't worry I'll came back later ok." With that the captain stood up and silently walked out of the infirmary door letting Chopper do what he needed to do.

Shanks watched Luffy exit the infirmary with a smirk playing at the edge of his mouth. The red haired man was against the mast waiting for his young friend to show himself. Luffy walked over to him with a light blush staining his cheeks. "Well Luffy you look like you just got something very important off your chest, hmm?" The boy just shrugged and mumbled something incoherent. "It wouldn't happen to have anything to do with a certain brown eyed navigator by any chance, would it?" Shanks was grinning as Luffy's blush darkened.

Luffy decided very quickly to change the subject. "Hey Shanks, I wanted to say thanks for rescuing Nami from that bastard and taking care of her."

The older pirate scoffed but frowned and placed a hand on the others shoulder. "There's nothing to thank me for Luffy I was more than happy to help. I'm only sorry I didn't act sooner." Luffy frowned as well but tried to smile anyway. "It wasn't your fault Shanks I know you tried and you did get Nami out of there."

Shanks began to smile realizing that Luffy was more mature than he thought. "Well then now that's settled why don't we change the subject. Tell me about some of your adventures. I'm sure you've had quite a few."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

During breakfast the next morning things were starting to feel back to normal somewhat. Luffy wasn't so distracted and stole most of Ussop's food also Zoro and Sanji got into their first real fight since Nami had been taken. This morning Shanks, Ben, and Yassop decided to join them for breakfast and this could have contributed to the lighter atmosphere around the dining table. Not long after breakfast was done an island was spotted on the horizon.

"It seems to uninhabited." Robin said after checking over some of Nami's maps. "There's a small bay on the far side that looks like it would be a good place to anchor."

Shanks stood next to Robin looking over her shoulder with amazement at the accuracy of one of Nami's latest maps. "I have to say Luffy, you sure know how to pick'em, looks and talent. Heh, not even my navigator is so dead on when it comes to drawing maps."

"Shishishi, yeah Nami's the best navigator in the world." Luffy's face lit up in a grin and he laughed.

Judging by the consistent weather surrounding the two pirate crews the island was Fall. As both ships headed toward the small island the crews bustled about and prepared to make landfall. "This will be a good place to avoid any unwanted trouble." Shanks said to Luffy and Zoro who had joined the two captains near the figure head of Sunny. "The Marines most likely wouldn't bother with such a small island and the same goes for any other pirates. With Nami still in this vulnerable condition it would be a very bad idea to go off and get into a fight." Luffy quickly agreed and within two hours both ships were harbored in the sheltered bay and both crews had started to disembark.

Instead of getting off the ship with everyone else Chopper chose to stay behind to look after Nami. Luffy almost did the same opting to stay close by in case Nami were to wake up. Shanks and Ussop had other ideas though, the older captain coming up on one side and Ussop on the other, they both managed to drag Luffy away from the ship. It had been decided among the pair that Luffy wasn't his usual hyper-active self and was far too concerned with Nami all the time. So like good friends the pair had shanghaied the Strawhat captain and drug him off to the forest to have an adventure and get his mind off things for awhile.

When lunchtime rolled around Sanji and the Red Hair pirate's cook made a huge feast for both hungry crews. Ussop and a few of the younger pirates from Shanks's crew built up a huge bonfire because of course you can't have a BBQ without a bonfire. The other Strawhats were scattered here and there mingling with the Red Hair crew. During the late lunch Luffy almost seemed back to his old self though both Zoro and Shanks could see that it was an act meant to keep his crew from worrying too much. Luffy was sitting on the sand between Zoro and Shanks as he finished off the last of his meat. Shanks's eyes had nearly popped out of his head at the sheer amount of food the boy could put away. It was then that Zoro noticed Chopper jump onto the railing of the Thousand Sunny and scan the crowded beach obviously looking for something.

"What do you suppose the little guys looking for?" Shanks wondered to the two pirates next to him.

They both shrugged not really knowing what the little reindeer could be up to either. "Don't really know. Maybe he's trying to find some food, I don't think he's eaten yet." Zoro mumbled into a mug of beer.

"You don't think it could be about Nami do you?" Luffy asked in a worried tone as he jumped to his feet. Before the pair of pirates could affirm or deny the idea, Chopper's voice called out. His big brown eyes looking in Luffy's direction.

Chopper noticed his captain jump to his feet not too far from the ship and luckily it was his captain that the doctor was looking for. "Luffy! Luffy!" The young pirate jumped off the railing onto the sandy beach and dashed towards Luffy, the teen jerked around suddenly at Chopper calling for him as his heart rate rapidly sped up in fear. Was there something wrong with Nami?

Racing to where Luffy was standing Chopper tried to talk while catching his breath. "It's Nami…huff…she…huff…she," the little doctor paused to take a deep breath and then continued, "Nami's awake! She wants to see you."

Luffy let out a deep breath he hadn't realized he had been holding and the others, who were listening in, also let out a sigh of relief as a cheer went up from both crews as the news spread down the beach, some of the Red Hair pirates not even sure what they were cheering for. The black haired captain grinned in relief and immediately rocketed himself over the Thousand Sunny's rails and crashed onto the lawn deck.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

**(Nami's POV)**

Pain. That is the only way to describe the feeling of returning to consciousness. Everything hurt, it hurt to move, it hurt to breath, it even hurt to think. I desperately want to stay in my dream but the outside world is calling to me. I don't want to come back to reality not with that bastard waiting for me. I want to go back to the dream I was having but with each second I can feel myself ripped from that world. Luffy is there waiting for me and I'm holding everyone up.

_Scribble... scribble_... Wait, what's that noise? _Scribble_... What's he planning now? Why did I have to return, I was safe with Luffy in his warm hold and I was happy. I can't stand the thought that in the end it is all just a dream and can so easily slip through my fingers. I lay on the small bed and try to hold onto the peace from my dream but too quickly it is fading away. The strange sound, which is familiar but I can't place, is overrun by the fierce pounding in my head. I can't concentrate on anything without my skull feeling like it's going to split open. It feels like every bone in my body must be broken but something is weird about this. Something is odd and even in this state it catches my attention. I still feel warm even outside my dream, things still hurt but less than they did. The bed is soft and smells clean not like the hard blood stained mattress I remember passing out on.

Unsure of my surroundings I tense involuntarily which only causes my pain to double. I grit my teeth against the loud groan trying to force it's way past my tongue. I try to keep myself as still and quiet as possible until I can find out for sure where I am. Not really wanting to draw attention to myself unnecessarily, who knows what could happen. Staying silent for a minute and only the random scratching sound reaching my ears I can't resist my curiosity anymore though they say curiosity killed the cat. With my head pounding and every bit of me aching in a dull kind of pain I slowly crack one eye open then the other.

What I see is at first unremarkable, mainly because my vision is so blurred it's all one big mix of color and light. The scratching noise comes again and I tilt my head toward where I can hear it coming from. The slight unwanted movement sends pain shooting through my head and the pounding intensifies. Before I can swallow it a soft groan escapes my lips and the noise stops suddenly.

"Nami?" My sight is too blurry and I can't make out who the voice belongs too but it has my head ringing trying to pin the familiar sound to a scattered memory. Finally the name is pulled up through a haze of pain and confusion but it couldn't be. Blinking to try and clear my vision I only succeed in making my head hurt worse. After a few seconds the blurred outlines start to clear and I can see enough to realize I'm not in Montaru's base anymore. Instead of the bare stone walls that have surrounded me since I was taken captive there are the welcoming wooden walls that I can recognize as the inside of Sunny. The very walls I had been dreaming of, the same ship, the same crew. I can't help but wonder if maybe I'm still in the dream somehow. No, it hurts too much to be a dream. Moving only my eyes this time I focus on the excited little reindeer at my bedside.

"Your really awake Nami?" If Chopper's here then that means... "How are you feeling?" He puts down the notepad he had been writing on and starts to bustle around the bed checking my heartbeat and other medical related things. I open my mouth to try and answer him but it seems to only aggravate my throat and I wind up in a coughing fit that brings me back to the edge of darkness again. When I can breath normally Chopper is there with a glass of water. I gratefully drink most of the liquid with Chopper's help. As he sets the cup on the nightstand by the bed I notice something that makes my heart speed up rapidly. Luffy's hat is there but it's owner is nowhere in sight. That can't be, Luffy doesn't just leave his hat lying around.

"Ch...Chopper, where is Luffy?" It hurts to speak and my voice comes out hoarse and scratchy from not being used but I have to know if he's alright. What Montaru did all those years ago to Dai flashes across my mind but I mentally shake it off. Luffy isn't some kid who can't handle himself.

Chopper looks up at me with his soft brown eyes and I feel like crying. How much had I wished and hoped that my nakama would come for me and now here I am with them again. "Hmm, Luffy? He's outside with Shanks and everyone eating lunch. Do you want to see him?" I can only nod weakly in response already I can feel my eyes getting heavier and I just want to rest my tired mind and body. The little doctor smiles happily and jumps off the chair he had been using before disappearing out the door. I silently hope that Chopper hurries I can feel the pull of the unconscious world trying to take me back but I fight it. I have to stay awake. I just have to be sure this isn't some kind of sick dream.

Suddenly from somewhere outside there's a loud thudding crash, it can only be one person. I smile because with Luffy around things feel safe again. Half a minute doesn't even get the chance to pass before the infirmary door swings open, and there he is, silhouetted against the bright afternoon sunlight from outside. Now that I really look it makes him look sort of angelic… or maybe it's just Chopper's medication talking.

**(END NAMI'S POV)**

Luffy's soft black eyes met with chocolaty brown ones the instant the rubber boy came running through the door. He stopped just inside the door frame as their eyes met. Finally the boy tore his gaze away from Nami's and let them slowly travel over the rest of her features as if making sure everything else was ok. He made his way over and sat in the chair that had been vacated by Chopper earlier. "Nami you're awake, you've been sleeping for awhile, but I knew you'd wake up again." Luffy's wide smile softened as he gently took Nami's hand in his larger one. "Chopper said you wanted to see me. Is something wrong? Can I do anything?"

Nami smiled weakly at his concern. It surprised her, the Luffy she remembered never sounded this concerned with anyone before. "No Luffy nothings wrong. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't dreaming." Tears began to well up in the navigator's eyes.

Luffy frowned softly at the raspy sound of Nami's voice. He brought his free hand up to gently brush the tears from her cheeks. His fingertips softly brushed against her bruises making her wince. Luffy quickly pulled away not wanting to hurt her. "Don't cry Nami. Shishi, everything's all right now. This isn't a dream and I'm not going anywhere."

The orange haired navigator looked up at her captain through half lidded eyes and smiled wearily. Now that she knew this wasn't a dream or her imagination Nami felt herself relax and could feel herself being pulled back into sleep. There was something keeping her from drifting off completely though. Something that she felt she had to do before everything could be right again. "Luffy …" His rough hand covered her mouth silencing her immediately.

"You need to sleep Nami. We can talk later now that you're getting better." Luffy gave her a warm smile. This puzzled Nami, she had seen a lot of different smiles on Luffy's face before but none like this. There were his wide grins whenever they were at a party or when lots of food was around. There were his daring adventurous smiles he got when starting out exploring on a new island, the more dangerous the better. Then he had his devilish little smirks when he was winning a fight and had the other guy on the ropes. This look was a new one though it was soft and gentle, and if Nami didn't know any better… loving.

"No Luffy, I can't sleep. Before anything else happens I have to tell you something important." Luffy's eyes blinked owlishly down at his navigator's pleading voice. "I missed you."

A smile spread across Luffy's face. "Shishi, I missed you too Nami."

It was getting harder for Nami to keep her thoughts together, blackness was hovering on the edge of her vision. She frowned up at him. "Let me finish Luffy." He looked sheepishly at the injured girl and nodded. "The thought of you was what kept me going in that place and as bad as it was it helped me realize something." She paused and started coughing again. Eyes half closed and sleep pulling her back into it's embrace Nami struggled to put her thoughts into words. "I want to stay with you. I always want to be by your side even after we complete our dreams, I want to be with you Luffy."

The rubber captain carefully brushed his fingers through the girl's soft orange hair. He blushed as his gaze remained on the clean white bedsheets. "I knew you had faith in me Nami. That's why I wasn't about to give up on you either. I knew you were counting on me to get you back safe and sound." Luffy looked up at last to see that Nami's eyes were closed. She had already fallen into a peaceful sleep again. He gave her bandaged hand a light squeeze. "I want to stay with you too Nami." He watched her sleep quietly knowing she still needed lots of rest.

Just outside the door to the infirmary there was a certain red headed pirate who was listening in on his young friend. A wide grin formed on his face. Shanks pushed off the wall and walked over to the rail he looked down to the beach. Luffy's crew and even some of his own were standing there waiting for news. "She's gonna be just fine you guys," a smirk crossed Shanks's face as he jumped onto the sand effectively blocking Sanji as the cook started to make a rush to the ship and Nami, "but I think they'll want some time alone for a bit." Sanji of course took the whole thing the wrong way and it took a nasty comment from Zoro to divert the blonde's attention from kicking his captain to the moon. Meanwhile the celebration, as it could now be called, continued the rest of the day and into the night.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

The following afternoon the Red Haired pirates were preparing to set sail again. Now that they knew Nami was awake and was headed for a recovery Shanks left the rest to Luffy. The older captain stood by the rope ladder leading up to his ship as his crew loaded up the extra supplies they had used during the party the previous day. Luffy stood beside the red haired man giving his friend and mentor a last goodbye. "Sorry but I can't give your hat back yet Shanks. I still haven't become the strongest I can get yet and I still have to find One Piece." Luffy ran his hand through his hair where the straw hat would have been if it wasn't sitting by Nami's bed.

Shanks laughed good naturedly and wrapped an arm around Luffy's shoulders. "Don't worry about it Luffy. Anyway there's no way I'd take it back now seeing as you've already given it to a special girl to hold onto." Luffy's cheeks colored pink and Shanks laughed louder as he released Luffy and turned to climb onto the Red Force. Hearing this Sanji scoffed and turned away sullenly. "Besides we'll run into each other again when you become pirate king." With many goodbyes being shouted on both sides the Strawhat crew gathered on the beach to watch as Shanks and his crew sailed off.

Luckily the usual trouble that followed the Strawhatcrew didn't catch up with them on the little island. For three days there wasn't much to occupy their time with. Instead of driving everyone crazy Luffy spent most of the day either watching Nami or letting Ussop and Chopper drag him off to explore the woods though never too far away from the ship. Even though Nami had regained consciousness and Chopper had told everyone she wasn't in danger anymore the navigator still spent most of those three days sleeping. Chopper said that was a good thing, it allowed her body to heal. Nami was still weak and couldn't stay awake for very long, the crew stayed on the small island for three full days waiting until Chopper told them Nami was stable enough to start sailing again.

After the third day with their stocks resupplied everyone looking forward to getting out on the ocean the Strawhat crew set off again. With Sunny sailing on the open water and the urgency of finding Nami behind them the crew went back to the normal routine of things. Even Luffy started to act like his old self though he always kept in mind not to be too loud in order not to disturb Nami.

Though it would be a little too simple to say everything was alright again. The nightmares started on the fourth day Nami had returned to the crew. Chopper had been with her then. Jerking up suddenly and scaring the little doctor right off his chair Nami yelped as the sudden and sharp movement caused a wave of pain to shoot through her body.

"Nami, what is it?" Chopper asked frantically picking himself up from the floor.

Taking a few deep breaths Nami tried to calm her nerves and stop trembling. "No, it's nothing Chopper. Just a dream. It's ok." She lay back down but it took awhile for sleep to claim her again.

She was alone when it happened the next afternoon. Crying out Nami shot up in the infirmary bed so fast that the pain didn't even register until a few seconds later. The outcry brought the young doctor rushing into the room with Luffy and Ussop trailing behind. The afternoon sunlight streaming in through the door told the navigator it hadn't been very long since lunch. Chopper looked concerned as he made her lay back down. She wouldn't stop trembling and the little reindeer could see the remains of tears in her eyes. "Nami, was it another dream?" Turning away from the curious looks Nami nodded slightly but didn't say anything else about it.

Luffy looked upset as he sat next to Nami somehow he knew what the dreams were about and he hated it. The Strawhat captain felt completely useless. If it was an enemy he'd fight it, if something were broken he'd get it fixed, but how could he fight something that was in your head? How could he fix something he couldn't see? "Ussop you guys continue the game without me." He told the two others standing beside him. Luffy reached over and grabbed onto Nami's hand which caused her to turn back and look at him in surprise. "I'm gonna stay here with Nami." And he did stay, until she fell asleep again, the comforting presence staying beside her bed.

It was breakfast time on the Thousand Sunny, eight days had passed since finding Nami on Shanks's ship, and her recovery was going really well. Most of the bruises were already fading and in a day or two the stitches could come out. She was finally able to stay awake for most of the day and thanks to Sanji's cooking was getting her strength back from being so under-nourished in the fishman base. The thing that worried Chopper, and secretly Luffy, was the nightmares Nami kept having. By this time the whole crew knew about them but no one could think of anything to help her.

The crew was relaxing around the table after the breakfast meal and Sanji was making up some food for Nami who was still confined to the infirmary under doctor's orders. As usual with every morning Sanji turned to Chopper to ask about Nami's health but this morning the young pirate beat him to it. "Nami is strong enough now so I can move her from the infirmary and back to her room. Being in a more familiar setting should help her get better faster. Luffy," said captain turned with half a piece of bacon hanging out his mouth that he had snatched from someones plate, "can you carry Nami to her room for me while I get her medicine?" Luffy nodded happy to be able to help his navigator.

Suddenly Chopper's animal instincts kicked in sensing danger. Turning around Chopper sqeauked in fear as Sanji stood behind him flames surrounding him in rightous fury. "That's unforgivable, how could you let that rubber bastard be the one to help my Nami-swan? No dessert for a week seems like a good punishment."

"Ah, for a whole week? But Luffy really wanted to help somehow and you've already been helping Nami. He wanted to do something." Chopper pleaded but it fell on deaf ears. "Aw please Sanji."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

"Noooo!" The calm night was shattered as a terrified scream rang through the air. The boys all jumped awake at the yell that came from the women's quarters. Luffy and Sanji were the first to move, leaping out of bed and rushing to the door. The others lay in their bunks wondering if they should follow as well. Zoro grumbled getting up as he waved the others away.

"There's no need all of us going. Those two idiots can handle it." The swordsman huffed and closed the door behind him as he walked out.

The rest of the guys frowned at the door feeling guilty they could do nothing to help their crewmate. "I knew it was going to take some time for her to heal but I didn't expect the dreams to be this bad." Chopper spoke to no one inparticular burying his head into his pillow.

"Don't worry Chopper, it's not your fault. I didn't think Nami would have nightmares like that guy's sister did, at least she didn't seem to for the first couple of days." Ussop said looking over the top bunk to the one beneath it where the reindeer was.

Chopper looked up at his friend with a sad look. "That's not it Ussop. I knew that Nami probably wouldn't have any nightmares for the first few nights because her body and mind were too tired to create them. Her body was spending all it's energy trying to heal itself so it didn't bother making up nightmares in her mind."

The long nosed teen simply stared down at the little doctor before he nodded understanding a little bit more but still feeling like he was in the dark on the whole thing. "Ok Chopper, if you say so."

Not bothering with the stairs Luffy stretched himself out and reached the door to Nami and Robin's room before Sanji. He burst through the door and saw that the archaeologist was already seated on the side of the bed trying to comfort the distraught girl. Nami's whole body was shaking and her hands though still bandaged could easily be seen trembling as they clutched at the covers. Luffy felt the chef arrive behind him and Robin turned to look at the two men standing in the doorway. The older woman shook her head sadly and pulled away from Nami a bit as Luffy walked over to take her place. Seeing Luffy sit down beside her the navigator latched onto the front of his shirt and buried her head in his shoulder. All Luffy could do was wrap his arms tightly around the trembling girl and try to offer whatever comfort he could.

"Geesh how's a guy gonna get any sleep around here?" Zoro complained grumpily from his position leaning on the door frame.

Sanji whirled around to glare fiercely at the green haired swordsman already upset that it was Luffy holding onto a crying Nami and not him. "Don't start blaming my poor Nami-swan you shitty swordsman."

"What was that Swirly-brow?" Zoro growled ready to fight even though he didn't have his swords.

Before the argument could break out into a full blown fight Luffy spoke up from his spot on Nami's bed. The tone of his voice was one he rarely used towards his nakama. "Would you guys give it a rest and knock it off." The rubber captain didn't look up from Nami but the two got the message and backed away from each other.

Robin smiled. "I think I'll find somewhere else to sleep for tonight." She said walking towards the door.

Sanji was instantly at her side hearts forming around him. "You could sleep with me my wonderful angel."

"Yeah then she'll be the one having nightmares." Zoro smirked at the cook as he walked out, the door being closed behind him. Luffy could hear the argument continue beyond the door.

After the three of them left Luffy sat in silence letting Nami cry into his shirt. He hated seeing her like this and hated even more that he wasn't able to stop it. Sniffling a bit after a few minutes Nami lifted her head from her captain's shoulder. "I'm sorry Luffy. Everyone must think I'm such a baby."

Luffy frowned deeper as Nami tried to apologize. "Don't apologize Nami we all know it's not your fault even Zoro doesn't blame you." Nami smiled at Luffy's attempt to make her feel better and snuggled closer to him as a result she pressed herself closely against him, the captain blushed as he automatically tightened his hold around her waist. "Do you wanna tell me about your nightmare? It seemed really bad this time." He knew she had nightmares almost every night even after Chopper had moved her back to the woman's quarters. The crew had only been woken up a few times though.

Nami shuddered as she felt Luffy place his hands on her shoulders and gently push her away so he could look into her face. She knew he was trying to make it better but she did not want to relive those dreams by talking about them. She let out a soft whimper as Luffy's hand rubbed over a rather large wound and he immediately stopped. The navigator looked up into the boy's soft black eyes and found she couldn't stop herself from telling him everything. "It feels like every time I close my eyes I'm back there again, alone, with him." Nami shivered violently at the memory, leaning back against Luffy. "He...he just wont stop. I can't do anything. I can't run or fight and it always ends the same way."

Wrapping his arms around the shivering girl Luffy brought her back into his comforting embrace. He lightly ran his hands up and down her back letting her know he wasn't going to leave anytime soon. When he felt the many bandages still there underneath her shirt his hold tightened almost painfully around her middle. 'That bastard shark, I wish there was a way to kill him twice. No one makes my navigator cry.' Luffy knew, had known, that he loved Nami. Somehow even before Shanks told him he had known somewhere in the back part of his mind. Ever since Nami had woken up their short conversation had played and replayed through his mind but neither of them had brought it up again. Finally Luffy tried to forget about it after all Nami had been pretty out of it at the time. She probably didn't mean it that way anyhow. Now seeing Nami like this, so sad and vulnerable, it caused those neglected feelings to rise to the surface again.

Luffy gently lifted Nami's chin up so that she would look at him then leaned down so that his black hair tickled against her ear. "Nami, I swear I won't let anyone hurt you like this again." Luffy pulled back and looked down into her tearful gaze as his hand came up to rest against her cheek. "I don't like seeing you hurt like this, it's so frustrating cause I can't do anything to help you. I mean I don't like seeing any of my nakama being hurt but it feels even worse when it's you. Without you I'd be lost."

"Luffy." Nami was stunned at her captain's words and wasn't exactly sure what he was trying to say to her. There were a few stray tears still on her cheeks as she looked up into Luffy's dark eyes. "Thank you Luffy, for everything." Nami leaned forward to bury her head into the boy's shirt again. "I don't know what I'd do without you either." She could feel her heart rate start to speed up again but this time it wasn't out of fear.

The captain broke his hold on his navigator and gently laid her back on the bed. Chopper would be upset with him if Nami didn't get enough sleep because he'd kept her up all night, she was still injured and needed to rest. Luffy seemed to move on instinct as one of his hands gripped Nami's tightly. Something in his mind told him he needed to act on this feeling and in true Luffy style he jumped in head first. "Nami I have something I gotta tell you, and it's important but I don't know if you'll like it or not, but Shanks told me that you would, and he's usually right so…I love you." Well that's what he said but the fact that the boy was speaking in such a rush only made his words sound jumbled so that what Nami really heard was something like this. "Nami-IhavesomethingIgottatellyou-anditsimportantbutIdon'tknowifyoulllikeitornot-butShankstoldmethatyouwould-andhesusuallyrightso…I love you."

It took Nami a couple of seconds for her to decode Luffy's rushed and jumbled words all except for the last three which was the only thing the rubber boy had said clearly. Nami blushed then she smiled when the words untangled themselves. "Luffy, do you really mean that?"

Luffy looked at his navigator with an intense stare. "Yes." His answer was short but Nami had no doubts in the truth behind that one word.

Still lying against the pillows that Luffy had pushed her against the orange haired navigator reached up and grabbed onto a fistful of Luffy's shirt and pulled him down to her. Leaning up slightly Nami placed her lips over her captain's in a gentle kiss. Luffy placed a hand on her upper back for support as he began to kiss her in return.

The kiss started to heat up as Luffy ran his tongue over Nami's bottom lip asking for entry. Without hesitating Nami parted her lips for him and was pleasently surprised that Luffy seemed to know what to do. The rubber captain started to explore her mouth with deliberate slowness twisting his tongue around hers in a very sensual way. Unsurprisingly Nami tasted like the tangerines she loved so much. Luffy savored the rare chance to taste Nami's favorite fruit, he knew he'd probably never get to taste the real things. Pushing Nami back down on the pillows Luffy put more force into the kiss as he braced himself above her with one hand, the other finding her chin and tilting it more to the side so his tongue could delve deeper into his navigator's hot mouth.

The circular motion Luffy's large warm hands were making on the back of her neck were sending shivers down her spine. All of a sudden she felt Luffy playfully tap her tongue with his then draw back into his own mouth inviting her to follow. Not one to turn down a challenge like this Nami wasted no time in returning the same treatment to her captain. The kiss went on back and forth this way for a few minutes until they both had to break apart for air. "Luffy, I love you too." Nami whispered into the captain's ear before kissing the lobe and leaning back.

Smiling warmly as he looked down on her Luffy softly stroked the tips of his fingers against Nami's cheek. "You should go back to sleep Nami. Chopper's gonna kill me if you don't get enough rest." Luffy whispered with a grin.

Nami chuckled tiredly but nodded. She didn't want to admit it but that little make out session wore her out as she was already tired from not getting enough sleep the last few days. "Would you stay with me for tonight Luffy? I don't want to be alone." Nami frowned but the boy grinned and nodded moving to a chair next to Nami's bed and gently brushed the hair away from her brown eyes. Luffy sat beside her bed until he heard the soft rhythmic breathing that told him Nami was finally asleep then Luffy leaned over to place a feather light kiss on his navigator's forehead.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

It was a nice breezy morning one week later just after breakfast and the crew was busy with their usual morning routines. Zoro was laid out next to the railing for his after breakfast nap. Sanji was enjoying a smoke and the cool breeze before heading back in and cleaning the breakfast dishes. Chopper and Ussop were bugging Franky as the cyborg worked on an unknown project and Robin was also enjoying the morning air as she happily sat in her chair and picked up her book. Luffy walked out of the galley after finishing off what was leftover from his crewmate's plates and with a grin he disappeared into Nami's room. Sanji huffed sourly as he watched the rubber idiot and he stamped out his cigarette.

Inside the women's room Nami was tapping her fingers impatiently against the spine of a book. She was waiting for Luffy to show up, 'That bottomless pit better not still be eating.' Was the only thing she had to say about it. After a considerable amount of threats and persuasion from the navigator Chopper had agreed that today she could finally get out of bed and go outside, just as long as someone was with her, in case she needed help. Nami honestly thought Chopper was being a bit overly cautious but after hearing how her near death experience scared the young doctor she could understand his feelings. So it was a stipulation she could definitely live with especially seeing as Luffy once again beat Sanji to the punch and volunteered to be her 'escort'.

This move on the part of the captain didn't surprise the more observant crew members but the others had their jaws dropped to the floor. Nami knew that Luffy wouldn't have it any other way. Ever since that night the two of them had been trying to keep their new relationship a secret from the rest of the crew. Though the orange haired girl suspected some of the smarter members already knew. The morning after Luffy had told her of his feelings Nami woke up to feel her captain's straw hat on top of her head and the boy himself sleeping peacefully next to her. It was Nami who suggested before Luffy left that they wait to tell the crew until she could help explain things and could stop Sanji from causing any harm to someone, namely Luffy. All it took was for her to mention that Sanji would likely take away his meat supply for a year for Luffy to agree to keep quiet about it.

Since that night her nightmares had begun to fade away but they didn't stop completely. She would still sometimes wake up in a panic with tears in her eyes even though the captain had left his treasured straw hat in her care, which was what tipped off a few crew members that something was different. As much as Nami wished for that small gesture to be able to make things better all of a sudden it didn't work that way. However the simple little object did help calm her down after the nightmares and she didn't wake the crew again. Luffy's comforting presence in the form of an old tattered straw hat was enough for her and slowly but surely the darkness still embeded in her mind was disappearing.

So now after more than three weeks of being bed-ridden Nami was sitting up and waiting impatiently for Luffy to arrive. "If he doesn't get his butt in here I'll just leave without him." The navigator huffed though she knew if she did that Chopper would be upset and probably make her stay in bed until _all _her bandages came off and even after three weeks there were still many bandages wrapping her ankle, wrist, and various other injuries on her body. Just then Luffy walked through the door with a big smile on his face. "Finally, what took you so long?" Nami scowled.

"Shishishi, sorry Nami." Luffy grinned as he grabbed a pair of wooden crutches Chopper had left by the door. He walked over to her bed and held out his hand for her to grab.

"It's fine but you owe me for being late." Nami grinned along with Luffy as she tossed her book down on the bed and grabbed hold of his offered hand. She laughed as he pouted.

The rubber boy's childish frown turned into a warm smile at hearing the light-hearted laugh of his navigator. 'Was it only a couple of weeks ago that I thought I'd never hear that again?' He gently helped Nami to her feet and kept a hand on her back to keep her steady as she adjusted to using the crutches.

Nami winced as she got used to the feeling of the crutches under her arms. Her shoulder where she was stabbed twinged in a quick flash of pain, almost unnoticeable. According to Chopper the wound was really deep and had gotten infected during her stay with the fishmen. The infection was taken care of almost immediately by the young reindeer's medicine but the knife wound itself took a lot longer to heal. "I can't wait to get out of here." Nami grinned towards Luffy momentarily forgetting she was supposed to be irritated with him for making her wait. "My room is nice and all but after all this time I'm ready for a change of scenery." Luffy chuckled and agreed whole-heartedly.

The captain followed his navigator out the door and to the railing overlooking the lawn deck where the crew was lounging about. She had to move slowly with the crutches at first but soon got used to them. Looking down at her relaxed nakama Nami slowly began to smile. This was something she didn't think she would ever be able to witness again and now she was finally able to appreciate it.

"Hey you guys!" Luffy shouted to the crew below them as he leaned over the rail next to Nami. Getting everyone's attention he pointed excitedly to the girl beside him. "Nami's up."

Nami groaned at her captain/boyfriend's ability to state the complete obvious with such a knowing tone and straight face. Like no one else could see her standing directly next to him.

Sanji, Chopper, and Ussop gave the navigator huge grins as she started towards the stairs and they all rushed over to wait for her at the bottom. Robin, Zoro, and Franky didn't move from their spots on deck but still smiled at seeing their nakama up and about. The crutches made it awkward for Nami to make her way down the stairs so when Luffy, who was coming down after her, picked her up in his impaitence and carried her the rest of the way she didn't protest.

The cook however had no problems with disapproving. "Hey Luffy what are you doing to my Nami-swan?" Sanji scowled as Luffy easily carried both Nami and crutches down the remaining stairs. Robin sent the pair a knowing grin but only Nami caught it before the archaeologist slipped back behind her book. The navigator blushed lightly but turned her attention back to Luffy as he set her down on the grass. Sanji lost his scowl as he ignored Luffy and twirled around Nami in his love state while the others gathered around as well.

"Tell me immediately if this is too much Nami." Chopper said at once, his doctor instincts overriding his happiness.

"This is nothing to great pirates like us Chopper why I've lost count of how many times I've defied the specter of death." Ussop puffed out his chest as he grinned at the starry-eyed reindeer.

Nami grinned happily at having her crew around her again. Chopper was worried for her as she knew he would be and she could tell Ussop was trying to distract him from his worry with those completely unbelievable lies. Sanji would never change with his cigarette puffing out little hearts as he kept going on about how miserable he had been without her. Nami just had to roll her eyes at that but she didn't discourage him, amazingly she had missed that as well. She missed not only Sanji's annoyingness but Ussop's lies and tall tales. Chopper's overwhelming gullibility and Zoro's ability to nap anytime and anywhere. Robin with her quiet and calm personality and Franky's completely odd pervertedness.

As for the last person on her list, the boy whose straw hat still rested beside her bed, she couldn't even put into words how she had missed him. Thinking back on it Nami remembered that she had promised herself that if somehow she were to survive that she would tell him how much he meant to her and it had paid off because it turned out that he felt the same way. Nami grinned at the thought of that night and finding out Luffy's feelings were the same as her own. It was indescribable how that moment made her feel. Turning her attention back to the boys Nami just shook her head hopelessly at Ussop's lying.

"I'm fine Chopper it doesn't hurt." She smiled reassuringly at the young reindeer before turning her attention to Sanji trying to get him to shut up for a minute. Luffy stood just behind her shoulder letting Nami handle the crew's attention, his eyes never leaving her form and the grin never leaving his face. Nami finally got Sanji to give her some space and now he was over by Robin. Nami had only been standing out on deck for a few minutes and not even doing anything when her shoulder started to ache from the odd way the crutches were supporting her. She felt it as a small shiver ran through her body making some of her more persistent injuries complain. The navigator didn't say anything though, there was no way she wanted Chopper to order her back to bed, not after just a short time of freedom.

No one had noticed the shiver not even Chopper who had the girl's attention as he told her about some herb he had discovered on the small island they had left behind. Then suddenly Nami let out a squeal of surprise as she was lifted into the air and her crutches dropped to the ground. Luffy laughed as the crew turned their eyes on him some dumbfounded others murderous (aka Sanji). The navigator wrapped her arms around her captain's neck unsure of what the unpredictable boy was planning. Leaping forward to land on Sunny's head and turning around to look at the assembled crewmates coal black eyes shifted in Sanji's direction and lips turned up in a defiant smirk before Luffy lowered his head and captured Nami's soft lips with his own.

"Luffy you bastard! What are you doing to Nami-swan?" Sanji exploded as he actually bit his cigarette in half. The cook would have kicked the crap out of the rubber idiot if he hadn't been holding onto his beloved angel. Sanji's attention was diverted though when Zoro burst out laughing from his position across deck.

"Hey keep it up Luffy, Nami, whatever makes the swirly cook upset is ok with me." The swordsman managed to call out before Sanji lunged at him and the two started trading blows as per usual. "Just face it Dartboard Brow you've lost. It doesn't seem Nami is too angry with the captain at the moment." Zoro took the time to point towards the couple, and Sanji although he didn't want to, followed his direction. Luffy still had Nami in his arms and she indeed didn't look all that upset seeing as she was too busy kissing him back.

When Luffy pulled away Nami stared up at him in amazement. "What…what are you doing?"

"Shishishi, you said I owed you and I think this takes care of letting everyone know about us." Luffy told her motioning with his head toward the encouraging smiles of Franky and Robin, the stunned faces of Ussop and Chopper, and behind them Sanji and Zoro who had started fighting again.

Nami laughed as she looked back up at Luffy and he grinned. "Yeah I think that'll do it." She brought her lips back to his for another heated kiss.

=O=O=O=O=

So that's it, all there is, the end, it's kaput, no more. It's been a blast writing this and reading all your reviews. Now this means I can try to work out some of the other dozen or so fics I have plots for but no story written. It's been so much fun. I'm gonna miss you guys so much (burst out into melodramatic sobs)…OH COOKIE! =D Ok I'm over it.

Anyway hope everyone enjoyed the story and thanks again for all the reviews and for everyone reading.


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